Breaking The Shackles of The Past (Ren Tao) ON HIATUS
by AppleBee25
Summary: *I DO NOT OWN SHAMAN KING! I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT MY CHARACTERS!* An incident occurred that changed (Name)'s life and put a large weight on her shoulders. What made things worse was that she was Manta's cousin and therefore the reputation of the family meant everything. What will happen when she's forced to be involved with shamans? Rated Mature because of a future lemon.
1. Chapter 1: Rumors

**Chapter 1: Rumors**

"Have you heard? Manta Oyamada says that he's actually seen ghosts!" a girl in my class said after school.

I stopped packing my bag as my (e/c) eyes widened in surprise and I listened to them intently.

The girl that spoke was Mai Yamamoto. She was fairly tall and had short brown hair that went to the top of her shoulders and dark chocolate brown eyes. Just like me and the rest of the girls in the school she was wearing a white short sleeved buttoned up shirt with a green pleated skirt.

"What?" her friend, Rei, asked in confusion.

Her friends name was Rei Urameshi. She was fairly pretty and looked like she could be a model of some sort with her black hair in perfect ringlets that went down to the small of her back and pale skin that looked flawless. Her eyes were green like emeralds and bright as she talked animatedly with her friends. She didn't have a small bust either which made her the envy of a lot of girls in my class. I was one of the few exceptions since I didn't really care either way and my chest wasn't small but it wasn't overly large either.

"It's true! One of my sisters friends is in his class and she said that he keeps insisting that he's seen ghosts and that the new kid in their class is involved."

"New kid?"

"Yeah, apparently they have a new transfer student and Manta completely freaked out when he saw him!"

"Is he cute?"

"I don't know I forgot to ask."

"How could you forget to ask? You know what never mind I already know the answer to that question…"

"I thought it was more important to hear about the fact that Oyamada seems to think that he saw ghosts."

"Hm, I beg to differ but it is strange… Do you know the new kids name?"

"I think I heard that it was Yoh Asakura but don't quote me on that and I've heard that he is cute among the girls in my class." said another girl as she jumped into the conversation after walking into the room from a different classroom.

Their other friend was named Midori Sohma. She was shorter than her two friends but still taller than I was and had medium length blonde hair and chocolate brown eyes.

"What? Really? He's that cute?" Rei asked.

"That's what I've heard."

"Let's go see if we can catch a glimpse of him before we go home! Even if he's only in the Junior High division, age doesn't matter when it comes to love!"

"You haven't even seen him." Mai said incredulously.

"Details, details, let's go already!"

The three girls walked out of the room with their backpacks on their backs as they hurried to make sure they were able to see the new kid. I, on the other hand, hurried to pack my things because I was worried about my younger cousin after hearing that he said that he had seen ghosts.

That's right. I am Manta Oyamada's older cousin (First Name) (Last Name) though most people don't know that since we don't look like we're related and I don't normally talk to him since my parents believe that he and I are competing against one another. However, this was one time that I was going to make an exception considering the rumor that's going around.

After I finished packing my bag I quickly walked out of the room towards my locker and then made my way out of the building to head for the Junior High building that was on the other side of the large courtyard. Even though I was 16 and in my second year of high school I ended up at the same school as my younger cousin Manta who was only 13 years old and in junior high. Right now though, I was happy about it considering how it made it easier to figure out what was going on because of my overly gossipy classmates.

The wind blew through my shoulder blade length (hair color) hair and pushed my bangs out of my eyes while I walked to the other side of the courtyard. If it were under better circumstances I would have liked to have enjoyed the warm sun on my (skin color) skin but at the moment I was worried about my younger cousin. I didn't want him to end up becoming an outcast amongst his friends and the entire school.

When I made it to his building I asked around to see what classroom he was in and somehow made it there before he left for the day.

"Manta?" I asked him as I walked through the door.

I immediately noticed the frustrated look on his face while he packed is bag.

Somewhere along the way he lost his ability to grow any taller and stayed stuck at 2 foot 7 but it seems to be a family trait since his father and younger sister are pretty short as well. Luckily for me I'm not blood related to the Oyamada family since it was my aunt that married into the family and I was able to be 5 foot 3 even though I'm still considered short amongst my piers. His short sandy-brown hair looked a little messy like he had been brushing his hands through his hair. He was wearing the boy uniform of our school which consisted of a pair of green pants, a white buttoned up dress shirt, and a tie.

"(Name)? What are you doing here?" he asked me as his brown eyes widened in shock.

There was a look of surprise on his pale face as he stopped packing his bag.

"Are you okay?" I asked in concern.

"What do you mean?" he mumbled before he started to pack his bag again.

"I heard that-"

"Ah! (Name) sorry but I have to leave." he said suddenly in a rush.

He looked at the door and quickly shut his bag before he headed out of the room.

"But-"

"I can't talk right now. Tell me later." he said before he walked out of the room.

I just blinked at the door in confusion before I sighed and shook my head. The three girls that were from my class finally made it to the room but only came to a mostly empty room except for me and a few stragglers. All of them looked at me in surprise and confusion before I quickly walked by them and headed to the doors of the building. Manta was already gone by the time I made it to the lockers near the front doors and I walked out of the building before I headed home.

Once I made it outside the front gate of my school I felt a strange yet familiar presence around me just like I did everyday but it was always calming, comforting, warm, and inviting so I welcomed it with open arms whenever it was around. When it first appeared I wasn't particularly keen on the idea of having something strange around me that I couldn't see and yet could feel but in the end it somehow helped me during the darkest period of my life so I eventually managed to get used to it being around as it supported me. Later on I found out that it seemed to also guide me physically by using the wind to gently push me in the direction that it felt like I should go. There were times when it would lead me in the opposite direction that I wanted to go but eventually I decided that resisting it was futile since I always would end up going in the direction it wanted me to go in anyway because of the strength of the wind that it would start producing would stop me from going any further.

It didn't take me very long to arrive home and when I did I went straight to my room like I always did to work on my homework. Unlike the last house we lived in this one was just a normal sized home that was simple and just right. When it was time for me to go into the 8th grade my parents immediately decided that we needed to move and this was the only home that they could come up with on such short notice. They were tired of the rumors that were going around at the time about me and didn't want their reputation to be tarnished any further then it already was after it was found out that I was somehow involved in the incident 5 years ago. In general I was happy when we moved so I wouldn't have to be constantly reminded of it day in and day out.

"(Name), it's time for dinner." I heard my mother say as she opened my door.

"Okay." I said before I quickly abandoned my homework and walked towards her.

She was a fairly pretty woman with silky brown hair that went down to the middle of her back and deep green eyes. Today she was wearing a pair of black slacks with a nice blue buttoned up dress shirt. Under normal circumstances she was kind but when pushed she can be cruel and unforgiving especially when it comes to the reputation of the (Last Name) family. In the end I've learned to just follow what she says but now my relationship with her is strained just like it is with my father.

Once we made it into the dinning room I saw my father was already at the table as he waited for us both to sit down so we could eat dinner together.

He was fairly handsome for his age with short blonde hair and striking blue eyes and I'm sure was a heart throb when he was younger. Just like any day he wore a three pieced black business suite with a blue tie. I suppose having dinner together was just for the sake of having some sort of normalcy but it was more of a show then anything in an attempt to seem like everything was just like it was before but it was far from it. We were civil towards each other but that was as far as it went. My father was just like my mother, kind under normal circumstances and yet won't flinch to strike you if you do something out of line that may hurt the family reputation. He was a successful business man that built his company from the ground up and his reputation was the most important thing to him.

It only took me 30 minutes to eat dinner before I excused myself and headed back to my room to finish up my homework. This was my normal life. Eat, sleep, and study nothing in between. I didn't have any people in my life that I could say that I was close to only acquaintances that were in my class. Sometimes I find myself wondering what it would be like to have friends again but I can't seem to bring myself to get that close to anyone.

When I was finally finished with my homework I looked at the clock and noticed that it was already 11 before I closed my books and decided to get ready for bed. After I showered, brushed my teeth, and changed into a pair of purple shorts and a black tank top I climbed into bed.

It still worried me that Manta said that he can see ghosts. I don't remember him ever mentioning that he could before so I don't understand what could have triggered it. Those girls said that he keeps insisting that the new boy in his class had something to do with it and I know that Manta isn't the type of person to lie. Whoever this boy is definitely had something to do with it but what that is I'm not sure. I just hope that whatever it is doesn't cause Manta to lose all of his friends. At this point I'm sure that everyone is calling him a liar and knowing him I'm sure that he's going to try to prove that he's telling the truth but I know for a fact that you can't take a picture of a ghost. In this instance I want to help Manta and support him even if it goes against what my parents want me to do. I want to tell him that I believe him even if no one else does…


	2. Chapter 2: Yoh Asakura

**Chapter 2: Yoh Asakura**

The next day began just like any other day. I walked to school and went to class. It wasn't until lunch that I heard rumors about Manta again from the same three people as yesterday.

"Hey guys. You know that kid Manta Oyamada that we were talking about yesterday?" Mai asked.

"Yeah, what about him?" Midori asked.

"He was beaten up last night?"

I paused for a moment and looked over at them in shock.

"What?" I asked in surprise without thinking.

They looked over at me in confusion since I don't usual speak to them or get involved in their gossip.

"Manta Oyamada was beaten up last night." Mai repeated as she blinked at me.

"By who?" I asked.

"I heard that it was Ryu of the Wooden Sword."

"What?!" Rei shouted.

"No way!" Midori shouted.

"Who's that?" I asked in confusion.

All of them looked at me like I had three heads or something.

"You've never heard of him?!" Rei asked in amazement and disbelief.

"N-No…" I said shyly.

"Well then I guess I'll have to explain then. Ryu of the Wooden Sword is the leader of a gang that beats up anyone that gets in their territory." Rei said.

"You're joking right?" I said with a weak smile.

"No…" she said as she gave me a strange look.

"Damn it." I said in frustration before I stood up from my desk.

I walked out of the room and left my lunch on my desk without giving them a second glance. There were quite a few people in the hallway still since lunch had just started so it was a little difficult to get out of the building but I managed it without too much trouble.

"How the hell did he manage to get beaten up by a gang?" I muttered to myself as I walked across the courtyard.

When I finally made it inside I headed for his classroom and looked around to make sure that I wouldn't miss him but I knew that since he was so small it would still be easy to if he was in a crowded area. Once I made it to his classroom I saw that he was sitting at his desk alone with a depressed, confused, and dazed look on his face. His right arm was in a sling and he had a bandage that went around his head. He also had an extremely black left eye and a band aid on his left cheek.

"Manta!" I shouted in alarm.

I quickly walked over to him as he and the others in the room looked at me in surprise.

"(N-Name)?" he asked in surprise and confusion.

"What- no, how did this happen?" I asked as I looked at him with worry on my face.

Even if we weren't that close he was still part of my family.

"It happened while I was trying to take a picture of the ghosts in the cemetery to prove that I was telling the truth and really did see them…"

"What?" I asked with an incredulous look on my face.

Then my assumption about him trying to prove to everyone that he was telling the truth wasn't wrong...

"Hey Manta, whose the hot chick?" one of the people in his classroom asked.

Manta didn't open his mouth to say anything as he looked at his desk with a conflicted expression on his face.

"I'm his cousin." I said.

He looked back up at me in shock once again.

"What?!" a bunch of people yelled out in surprise.

"If you're his cousin then maybe you can talk some sense in to him. Tell him that there is no such thing as ghosts and that he's over working himself because he's studying too much." a large boy with short brown hair said.

His white shirt only half way buttoned exposing his chest.

"…I can't do that." I whispered just barely loud enough for him to hear me.

"What?" he asked in confusion.

"I can't do that." I said firmly as I raised my voice and looked him in the eye.

"(Name)?" Manta said with confusion clearly written on his face.

A girl with brown eyes and brown hair that went just past her shoulders and curled up at the end walked over to us and spoke.

"Your not serious going to believe-?"

"I am. I don't see any reason why he would want to lie about something like this. There's nothing to be gained from it." I said as I looked at her with confidence.

"But-"

"If there is one thing that I know about my cousin it's that he isn't a liar. You've said that he was simply hallucinating because he's been overworking himself but he mustn't think so. In order to prove that he isn't lying he tried to get a picture of the ghosts but he ended up getting beaten to a pulp by Ryu and his gang instead. I would think that if someone wasn't telling the truth they would give up on the story and move on after they were beaten up. In fact, I'm sure that they wouldn't have tried to get proof to show anyone to begin with." I said firmly.

"(N-Name)…" Manta said moved by what I said.

"I know it's not much Manta but just know that I believe you and even though we aren't close you can always talk to me if you need to. Okay?" I said with a kind smile.

"Th-Thanks, (Name)…"

"No problem. That's what family's for right?"

"Right." he said with a small smile as he nodded his head in agreement.

"I'll see you later Manta."

"Yeah."

I turned towards the door of the classroom and was about to walk forward until a boy that was the same height as me walked into the room.

He had brown eyes and shoulder length brown hair with long bangs that framed his face. On his head he had on a pair of orange headphones, wore his shirt almost completely open without a tie, and had a bear claw necklace around his neck.

There was no doubt in my mind that he was the new boy that everyone was talking about. The rumors about him being cute weren't wrong but it was the feeling I had when he entered the room that really made me pause. It was a feeling that I thought that I would never feel again and it made me feel uneasy. An image of a 16 years old boy with purple eyes and short black hair entered my mind and I felt a sudden pang in my chest. Was this boy the reason why Manta could see spirits?

"(Name)? (Name)!" Manta said as he broke me out of my thoughts.

"What?" I asked as I looked at Manta in a daze.

"Are you okay? You look pale."

"I-I… Yeah I'm okay. Well I'll see you." I said with a fake smile on my face.

I quickly walked out of the room to get as far away from the boy as possible as he stared at me in confusion. As I walked down the hallway I fought to make sure that more images didn't pop up in my mind.

It wasn't until I made it out of the building that I felt like I could take a deep breath to try to calm myself. I looked up at the sky as I slowly walked through the courtyard and saw that there were a few white clouds as the sun shined brightly and warmed my skin. I didn't feel like going back inside so I wandered around aimlessly for a few minutes until I sat down on an empty bench that was next to the high school building. There was no doubt in my mind that I would regret my decision later since I didn't get a chance to eat my lunch but at the moment I didn't really care. The only thing that I wanted at the moment was to be alone. I spent my entire lunch on the bench as I enjoyed the suns warmth and reluctantly walked back inside when the warning bell signaled that class would start again soon.

When school was over I gathered up my things and headed out of the building. The second I reached the outside gate of the school and stepped off the property I was enveloped by the presence and the turmoil the I felt from the encounter with the boy in Manta's class was finally put to rest. It was times like these that I was grateful that it was around me. It always seemed to know exactly when I needed its warmth and support.

After another awkward dinner with my parents I worked on my homework for a little while until it was time for bed. A feeling in my gut hit me full force and I paused just as I was about to climb into bed for the night. I walked over to the window that was a few feet from my bed and looked outside in confusion. There was something inside of me that told me that I had to go somewhere that I couldn't ignore. As quickly as I could I snuck out of the house through my window in a pair of purple shorts, a black tank top, and a pair of red sneakers and headed towards the unknown destination that I felt like I had to go to. It was late enough that I didn't have to worry about my parents coming into my room to talk to me since they were asleep but even if they were awake I probably wouldn't have worried too much about it since they rarely came into my room anyway. I could tell that the presence that was with me was nervous but it didn't try to stop me as I ran forward.

"Why did it have to be here of all places?" I asked myself as I stood in front of the small side gate of an old cemetery.

Under normal circumstance I would have just left right then and there for home, I hated being in or near cemeteries, but I still felt like there was something that I had to do here and I would more than likely regret it if I didn't follow through with my gut feeling. My eyes widened when I heard a group of voices approaching me from behind and I quickly opened the small gate and ran up a long set of stairs to get away from them. Once I reached the top of the stairs I noticed a small Japanese styled building that had a wooden bridge straight across from it. On the other side of the bridge there was a small piece of land that could only be reached by crossing the bridge and I quickly hid behind the building when I heard someone speak.

"Well, when it all ends, I'll untie you. Just have some patience and watch."

"Watch what? Watch how you get beaten to a pulp by Ryu of the Wooden Sword?" I heard a very familiar voice.

A look of confusion appeared on my face as I poked my head out from the side of the building and looked towards the piece of land on the other side of the bridge. The boy with the orange headphones was sitting on the ground next to a headstone that had been knocked over while Manta was tied to a large tree with his feet dangling in the air due to his height.

"Rather than that… What I'm trying to say is… I want you to watch me." the boy said.

I was about to step out from behind the building to help my little cousin until I heard the same group of voices that heard before I ran into the cemetery.

"But it was nothing!"

"That voice…" I heard my cousin say with fear in his voice.

"When they saw Ryu swinging the wooden sword around, everyone scattered away."

"They were all bullshitting with us."

A group of guys that were around my age were all huddled in a group as they talked about their latest achievement.

"Who's there?" the guy at the front of the group said.

He wore a pair of white pants, a white vest over a purple top that had oversized lapels, a long sleeved white jacket, and black shoes. The one thing that was really strange about him was the foot long black pompadour hairstyle that he had. He had a black goatee beard that only covered his chin and black eyes.

Since all of the guys in the group seemed to be following him it didn't take me long to come to the conclusion that he was probably the leader.

When they stood in front of the building I counted how many of them there were and realized that there were 9 people in the group including the guy with the pompadour.

There was a blue haired guy that was wearing a black long sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans, a guy with a shaven head that was heavy set and wore a pair of black pants, a short guy that wore a yellow coat with the hood up so you couldn't see his face and a pair of jean shorts, a tall brown haired guy that had a short Mohawk and wore a black vest and a pair of blue jeans, another guy who had a black hat on with a green coat that had white trimming at the top of it and a pair of gray pants, another guy with a red hat that wore a large brown coat and a pair of jean shorts that was heavy set, a guy who had a buzz cut that was average height and wore a black coat over a white shirt with a pair of black pants, and a guy who had long gray hair that was parted to the side that wore a black tank top and a pair or jeans.

I quickly pieced the facts together and ventured a guess that this was probably the gang that beat up Manta last night while he was trying to take a picture in the cemetery. The look of fear on Manta's face, the fact that they were talking about Ryu, and that we were in a cemetery made it relatively easy to figure out. My only question at this point was why in the world were Manta and that boy here? I understood the fact that Manta was tied to a tree against his will so he didn't have much of an option but why would that boy take him here when he more then likely knew that this was where Manta was beaten up?

"Yo. I'm Yoh Asakura and this is my friend, Manta Oyamada." the boy said as he introduced himself.

He was rather relaxed considering the situation.

"H-How do you do?" Manta said nervously with a blush on his face.

"Ryu-san that's the kid from yesterday…" the guy with the red hat said to the guy with the pompadour.

"I know what I'm looking at." Ryu replied annoyed.

"My friend seemed to owe you some debt, so I came by to return the favor."

I gave Yoh an incredulous look.

"Favor? Are you saying you're going to avenge him? You sure got some guts. You must really want to see the otherworld soon." he said as he laughed.

Did he seriously just challenge them to a fight? What the hell is he doing?! There is no way that he can take on 9 guys all at once.

"Even those of the otherworld are saying that you people are annoying."

Oh my hell. This guys is unbelievable! Is he trying to make them mad at him?!

After that another thought occurred to me as my eyes widened and I tensed up.

"Did he just say the people of the other world?" I whispered to myself.

"This kid… There is a limit even when joking around." Ryu said annoyed.

"Apologize! Kneel down and apologize!" Manta shouted in fear.

"Tch!" Ryu said as he made a sound of annoyance.

"Ryu! We'll take care of them." the guy with a buzz cut said.

"There's no need for Ryu to waste any effort on this." the guy with the Mohawk said.

"Apologize already!" Manta shouted again.

"I told you, it's all right." Yoh said.

"It's impossible to do anything by yourself!"

"I'm not alone!" he shouted.

A ghost materialized behind him as it appeared from the headstone that was on the ground.

"I shall grant thee an opportunity to redeem your mistakes, so you should be thankful!" the ghost said as he glared at them with his brown eyes.

His long white hair was up in a high ponytail and his long bangs that were parted in the middle reached down to his chest. He wore a loose fitting pair of black shorts that were frayed at the end and a black top that exposed his well sculpted chest which had frayed sleeves that reached down to his elbows. He had a white belt that was tied around his waist into a large bow to keep his clothing in place. There was a sword hanging from the belt on each side of his body and over his shirt was a large white cloak that hung over his shoulders which was attached to the front of his shirt. Two large pieces of red armor were placed over his shoulders and the upper half of his arms. His red, toeless, shoes went up to just below his knees and he had more red pieces of armor which were strapped around his forearms that went from his elbows to his wrists.

Mistakes? What is he talking about? Why is he so angry? We're these the guys that trashed his headstone? More importantly why did Yoh say that he wasn't alone? He can't see the ghost that's behind him right? Was my feeling about him right after all?

"Trash him!" Ryu yelled out.

Two members of his gang immediately charged at him and I tensed up as I looked at the scene in alarm.

"Manta. Watch me closely." Yoh said.

"W-Wait!" I shouted as I jumped out of my hiding spot without thinking.

The gang members who weren't charging towards Yoh looked back at me in surprise and confusion. I knew that it wasn't the brightest idea to reveal myself but I didn't want them to beat up Yoh or in Manta's case beat him up any more then what he already was.

"All right! Amidamaru! Spirit Ball Mode!" Yoh shouted.

The ghost, now known as Amidamaru, turned into a blue ball and my eyes widened in shock.

Don't tell me that this kid… No! There's no way!

"I'm a shaman, one who links this world and the otherworld!" Yoh said as he repeated words which were similar to ones that I had heard once before.

The image of the 16 year old boy with purple eyes and short black hair appeared on my mind for the second time today.

"You're a shaman..." I whispered as I stared at him.

A strong wind engulfed the area when one of the guys tried to walk towards me and my hair blew wildly around me as the wind forced the guy to stay in his place. It was obvious that it was the presence that was creating it but for the first time it didn't seem to be able to bring me comfort. It couldn't help me this time.

Why...? Why did my gut feeling have to bring me here? What was the reason? Did I really have to see all of this? Did I really have to be reminded of him?

"Let's go! Over Soul Merge!" Yoh yelled out before he pushed the spirit ball into his chest.

"The spirit went into his body?!" Manta yelled out in shock./p

Everyone decided to look over at Yoh in confusion. The two members of his gang charged at him like nothing had happened but when they reached him they were easily defeated. They were thrown into the air and landed onto the ground in front of the rest of Ryu's gang. In Yoh's hands was a piece of wood that was cut like a sword that he had just used to defend himself.

"Wh-What the hell just happened?" the heavy set shirtless guy asked.

"It was too fast to see anything…" the guy with the red hat said.

"You're next. Are you prepared for it?" Amidamaru asked as Yoh let the spirit completely control his body.

My knees buckled from underneath me as a memory of the 16 year old boy with purple eyes and short black hair came to my mind for a third time. This time he had a samurai sword in his hand as he fought against a group of men. I quickly pushed it to the back of my mind and focused on the battle in front of me. I've been able to suppress those images for 5 years now and I'm not about to start being reminded of them now. It wouldn't do me any good.

"What's wrong? Are you scared of my blade, amateur?" Amidamaru asked with a confident smirk on his face.

"This bastard! Don't underestimate me!" Ryu shouted before he charged at him angrily.

Yoh's body crouched down and disappeared from Ryu's line of vision.

"He disappeared?!" Ryu asked in alarm.

"Ryu, watch out!" his gang members yelled.

Yoh's body lunged forward with the wooden sword in his hand but instead of hurting him he jabbed the sword straight up into the air and cut off the front of Ryu's pompadour.

"I won't kill you since I don't want a loser like you to be one of us." Amidamaru said.

Ryu fainted and fell back onto the ground. Under normal circumstances the comment that Amidamaru made would have made me laugh but at the moment I was still in too much shock after what I had just seen. There was a shaman in front of me after all these years.

"Ryu has been defeated! Run!" all of Ryu's gang shouted in shock and horror as they grabbed their leader and ran off.

The area was completely silent for a few moments after Amidamaru left his body and the wind around me disappeared before I was able to speak out as I calmed myself down a little.

"Are you the reason why Manta can see spirits now?" I asked softly.

Yoh and Manta looked in my direction before Yoh spoke.

"Yeah."

Yoh untied Manta from the tree and Manta stared at me with wide eyes and shouted as he pointed at me.

"(Name)?! What are you doing here?!"

"I wish I knew that myself. There was something that pulled me here. Call it a gut feeling." I said as I stood back up and dusted off my knees.

"Are you a Shaman?" Yoh asked.

"What?" I asked in confusion as I looked at him.

"You have a spirit that's hanging around you. Is he your primary spirit?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I said before I slowly made my way across the bridge.

First of all it paranoid me a little to cross the bridge since it was old, worn down, and didn't have a railing but most it was the fact that the feeling that I had around Yoh made me uncomfortable. I felt uneasiness around me instead of the usual calm that came from the presence around me as it tried to decide if it was okay for me to get closer to him but it didn't try to stop me.

"What?" Yoh asked in confusion.

"I've never been able to see him. I can only tell that he's there because I can sense him." I said after I made it over to them.

"So that means that you can't see spirits like Manta."

"That's- Well…" I said with uncertainty.

I wasn't sure how I should tell them that I could since I didn't want to lie about it. Since he was a Shaman I knew that he would believe me if I said that I could and Manta would also believe me now that he could see them as well but I was still hesitant to say it.

"(Name)?" Manta asked.

"I can see spirits. In fact, I can see every spirit except the one next to me. The truth is I didn't even know that he was a spirit until you just told me. I just thought he was some strange presence that always seemed to be there most of the time."

"What?! You can see spirits?!" Manta yelled out.

"Yeah, that's partially why I was able to tell you that I believed you at school today. I know what it's like to be told by your friends that you're a liar after telling them that you can see ghosts. I know for a fact that you're not a liar and I didn't want you to feel alone. I wanted to support you in anyway that I could."

"How long have you been able to see them?" he asked in confusion.

"8 years."

"What?! 8 years?!"

"Yeah, the first 3 years they were kind of blurry and hard for me to make out but that changed 5 years ago and I've been able to see them clearly ever since."

"So you must be a good person too then." Yoh said.

"H-Huh?" I asked in surprise and confusion as a light blush appeared on my cheeks due to the sudden compliment.

"My grandfather told me that if someone can see spirits that they must be a good person."

"I don't know if you would call me a good person but thanks I guess." I said with an embarrassed smile on my face.

This boy didn't seem like he was too bad… He even called Manta his friend and faced off against Ryu's gang because they beat him up.

"Do you want to help us fix this?" Yoh asked me as he pointed to the damaged headstone.

I looked over at it now that I was close enough to inspect it and I could see just how badly damaged it was. It was no wonder why Amidamaru had been so angry with them. The headstone had the typical wear and tear since it was out in the elements but it had been completely sliced in half and had quite a few cracks around the area where it had been split in two.

"Sure. It's the least I can do since Amidamaru did help you guys out." I said with a nod.

We headed to a late night convenience store and bought some glue before we patched up the headstone as best as we could and pieced it back together again but when we were staring at as we finished it I knew that we hadn't put it together right.

"All right, perfect!" Yoh said as he grinned at the headstone.

"What do you mean? It's cracked all over the place…" Manta said as he also stared at it.

"…And we messed up and put it together wrong. Aren't the words supposed to be on the same side?" I said worriedly.

"Well, don't mind such petty things." Yoh said before he laughed.

Manta and I looked at each other with concern but didn't word out opinions on the subject.

"You two seem unconcerned." Yoh said.

"About what?" Manta asked as we looked over at him.

"Me… Even when you saw me unite with the spirit…"

"The thing is, the first time I saw you, was with the spirits."

"…This isn't the first time that I've seen someone unite with a spirit like you did." I said as I looked off to the side.

"You mean you've met a shaman before this?" Manta asked.

"Yes…" I said with a fake smile on my face.

After all these years it still hurt to talk about him.

"I see." Yoh said.

"Yeah." said Manta.

There was a comfortable pause between us that lasted for a few moments until Yoh spoke up as he looked up at the sky.

"Today's stars are really pretty."

"Wow… No kidding!" Manta said as he and I looked up.

"I didn't even know there was a place in town that you could actually see the stars like this!" I said in amazement.

We lived in the city so the lights always blocked the view of the stars but here they shined brightly in the night sky.

A gently breeze brew through my hair and I felt the presence come closer to me. It was once again calm, warm, comforting, and inviting just like it normally was and I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in.

Today had definitely been one large roller coaster and even though I was reminded of the past I didn't feel completely devastated like I usual would have been. Actually, in a way, I felt relieved and a little lighter as if a huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. I haven't been able to tell anyone that I could see spirits since the last time I tried so I've just dealt with it all on my own. I didn't want to be called a liar again. But, now that I know people that can see them I don't have to hide the fact that I can anymore and knowing that made me happy. Life has a strange way of bringing people together though. Who would have thought that it would be my very own cousin and his new found friend that I would be able to tell that I could see spirits? To top it all off who would have thought that it was my cousin who would happen to run into a shaman out of all people? It wasn't like they were all over the place.

I don't know why I was suddenly pulled towards the cemetery tonight but I definitely didn't regret coming here. Perhaps it was just so I could meet Yoh and see that he was a shaman or maybe it was so I could finally get closer to my little cousin. It's a little painful for me to be around a shaman but I can't help but want to be around him. Maybe, just maybe, I can finally have a friend that I can trust just as much as I did before. I guess only time will tell.


	3. Chapter 3: Amidamaru and Mosuke

**Chapter 3: Amidamaru and Mosuke**

A little more then two weeks had passed since my encounter with Amidamaru, Yoh, and Manta at the cemetery. I began to hang out with them after school instead of immediately going home since I couldn't seem to keep myself away from them after that night. My parents obviously noticed the change in my daily routine and asked me about it so I had to tell them that I had made a couple of friends. They seemed like they were okay with it. In fact, they actually seemed a little happy when I told them. I obviously didn't tell them who my friends were. If they found out that I was with Manta and a shaman they definitely wouldn't like it. They would forbid me from talking to them ever again. As far as they knew I had simply made friends with a couple of girls at my school and I intended to keep it a secret.

"Shaman… They put themselves into a trance by will and communicate directly with gods, spirits, spirits of the dead, and other spiritual beings. Shamans can borrow their strength to heal diseases or even manipulate the government. Since ancient times, shamans have been the epicenter of human societies. Even at this very moment, shamans exist all over the world." Manta said as he read his book to us.

It was after school and we were sitting on the grass next to Amidamaru's headstone with our backs against the tree in the shade and I could tell that the spirit that was always around me was right next to me. Yoh seemed to like to come here a lot. I wasn't necessarily a fan of it but I dealt with it.

"What's that book?" Yoh asked him.

"Foundation of knowledge, Manjien! But I still don't quite get it." Manta said.

"What?"

"About shamans, it should be different from ESP users, since it's written in this book. I don't get it at all… Hey."

"Huh?"

"What's a shaman?"

"Me!" Yoh said as he pointed to himself.

I burst out into laughter at his response since it didn't even come close to answering the question and only seemed to infuriate Manta.

"I'll hit you!" Manta said annoyed as he threatened to throw his book at him.

Yoh laughed along with me before he and I stopped and he spoke to Manta with a smile on his face.

"Well, isn't it exactly like what the book says? All of my family does similar sort of work."

"What about you?"

"I have no interest in politics or religion." Yoh said.

He stood up and dusted off the back of his pants.

"So why did you come to Tokyo in the first place?" Manta asked as Yoh took a few steps forward.

"I've been wondering the same thing. Is it to improve your skills?" I asked in curiosity that equaled Manta's.

"Something like that. I came to gather partners. A shaman's level is mostly determined by the strength of the spirits who aid him. To put it simply, by having a strong spirit on one's side, one is acknowledged to be a full-fledged shaman. I'm sure I can meet a powerful spirit in this big city." he said as he looked at the view of the city from the edge of the piece of land we were on.

"Well then good luck Yoh!" I said as I cheered him on with a smile on my face while he walked over to Amidamaru.

"So be my partner Amidamaru." Yoh said with his right hand out for him to shake.

My mouth fell open in shock along with Manta's and Amidamaru's while Yoh simply smiled at him and acted like it was just any normal situation.

"What kind of way is that to ask a spirit?!" Manta yelled out in disbelief and shock.

"This is Yoh were talking about. We should really be used to his attitude by now." I said before I shook my head in disbelief.

"You're asking me to join you?" Amidamaru asked in surprise.

"Yeah, your skill with the sword was amazing. If you were my primary spirit-" Yoh said with a grin before Amidamaru cut him off.

"I refuse." Amidamaru said as he stood up.

It didn't take him very long to decide... That's probably the quickest rejection I've heard in a while.

"It was only a coincidence that your goal was the same as mine. Besides that, I have no reason to help you. I have no intention of leaving this place."

After that he disappeared and I looked at Amidamaru's headstone in confusion as Yoh frowned.

Why does he want to stay here after being offered the chance to be able to travel along side a shaman? Was there a reason why he was still here that we didn't know about? Is that reason why he hasn't moved on to the otherworld? Does he still have something that he needs to do here in this cemetery? But he's been dead for 600 years whatever it is can't be accomplished now can it?

"Hey, (Name)! What are you doing?! If you don't stop spacing out we're going to leave you behind!" Manta shouted from the top of the stairs as he broke my train of thought.

"What? Oh, right! I'm coming!" I shouted as I realized that they were about to leave me behind.

I stood up and cautiously walked across the bridge before I ran towards them.

"Why do you do that?" Manta asked me as we walked down the stairs.

"Do what?" I asked him in confusion.

"You always seem to pause before you slowly make your way across the bridge."

"Oh, that… Well I kind of don't want to fall off and end up dying." I said with a nervous laugh.

"Why would you think that you would end up falling off? It's not that small of a bridge and even though it's old it's pretty sturdy so it isn't like it's going to break in half just because you're walking on it."

"Paranoia mostly…" I said as we made it down to the bottom of the stairs.

I heard Yoh and Manta snicker about something once we made it through the small side gate of the cemetery and looked at them in confusion.

"What's so funny?"

"It's nothing. Your spirit friend just said something funny about your problem with the bridge."

"What? Hey, that's no fair! I can't even hear what he says to even attempt to defend myself!" I shouted.

There were a few moments where none of us said anything until a thought occurred to me.

"Wait, you can see him too Manta?"

"Yeah."

"I wonder why I can't see him…" I said in confusion.

Now that I knew he was a spirit I kind of wanted to see what he looked like and hear his voice like I could all the other spirits in the cemetery. He has been with me this entire time after all.

"I don't know. It is a little strange that you can see all the other spirits and not him. What do you think Yoh?" Manta said.

"Yeah, it is strange but there's no point in worrying about something like that."

I looked at him for a few moments before I spoke.

"I suppose so, after all I haven't been able to see him all this time and nothing bad has come from it… So where are we headed?"

"I don't know. I'm just following Yoh." Manta said.

"Yoh, where are we going?"

"I'm heading to the bridge that we cross to get here. It's another great spot to relax."

"You felt like you overstayed your welcome with the way Amidamaru responded to your request didn't you?" I said after a few moments of silence.

"Something like that." he said.

It wasn't long after that we made it over to the bridge and looked at the water that flowed underneath it. I didn't have a problem with this bridge. It was big, sturdy, and even had a railing so I didn't have to worry about falling off even if I tripped. I leaned my arms against the railing and took a deep breath in before exhaling out through my mouth. From the corner of my eye I saw that Manta was starting to twitch before what was on his mind finally came out.

"Jeez! What were you thinking?!" Manta finally said annoyed.

"About what?" Yoh said obviously depressed with his hand against his cheek as he leaned against it.

"What do you mean, "about what?"! You were trying to befriend that kind of samurai! Amidamaru used to be known as the Devil! He disobeyed his shogun! And the hundreds of people who came after him, he killed them all without any mercy! He's that kind of a scary person!"

"A devil…"

"Yeah, that's right! It's a well known legend in this area. You understand? If you try to make him your primary spirit, you'll definitely be killed. You should absolutely give up on him." Manta said as he paced a little.

"I guess…"

"Right!"

"I don't know. He doesn't seem like he's a bad person to me Manta. In case you've forgotten he helped you guys out." I said.

"You heard him! He said that the only reason why he helped us was because he had the same goal as us."

"I'm still a little doubtful… I don't think he's a bad person."

"He really looked strong… I guess I'm going to make him my ally after all." Yoh said with a grin on his face.

"Were you listening to me at all?!" Manta shouted as he brushed his hands through his hair in aggravation.

"Besides, that's only a legend." Yoh said as he looked back at him with a smile.

"So you won't believe it?"

"That's not what I'm saying. I think such matters can be ignored. When I became one with him, it was somehow… warm." Yoh said as he put his hand over his chest.

"Warm?" Manta and I asked at the same time.

"Yeah. You just know these things. When you become one with the spirit, you know its true form. I don't think he's a bad guy. However, I also felt a whirlwind of emotions within him. That guy… Why didn't he want to leave that place?"

There were more questions then there were answers and we stood there in silence as we thought about Amidamaru.

It wasn't long after we stopped talking that we all decided to head our separate ways. Since I didn't have cram school today I went straight home and the second I made it inside I went to my room. The rest of the night went like it normally did and when my parents asked about what I did I just gave a generic answer to their questions.

It wasn't until the next day after school that things picked up where they left off and all of us headed towards the local history museum after school.

"It's amazing how Amidamaru's katana from 600 years ago is still around." Yoh said amazed.

"Yeah… I would have thought it would have rusted or something by now." I said as I agreed with him.

"Well, it's an important part of the town's history. Anyway, why do you want to see such a thing?" Manta asked Yoh since it was his idea to go to the museum to see the sword.

"That's obvious, because I want to know more about Amidamaru."

"I told you already, you should give up on getting him to be your primary spirit. It's really dangerous." Manta said.

Yoh just laughed in response.

After a few minutes we saw a small building up ahead that had a large amount of windows which was obscured by the tall trees that surrounded it. If Manta wouldn't have shown us where it was we would have never even known it existed. Just like Yoh, I didn't know much about Funbari's history even though I've lived here for about 4 years since I wasn't a native to the area like Manta and I hadn't really been interested in anything but homework until I became friends with them.

"Is that the…" Yoh began to ask.

"The Harusame is displayed in that museum." Manta said.

We all walked up to it and noticed the sign in front of the door.

"Damn, it's closed?!" Manta shouted.

"Guess we came here for nothing." Yoh said.

We heard something squeak loudly behind us and looked back only to find an old man who was sitting on his bicycle.

"What's wrong, guys? Do you have some business here?" the man asked.

He was holding a broom in his right hand and had a pair of glasses over his eyes. His outfit consisted of a brown hat on his head with brown coat over a blue buttoned up shirt with a tie and a pair of brown pants. When he noticed that we wanted inside of the museum he was kind enough to get off his bike and let us in so we could see what was inside.

"I'm sorry, even though it's closed today…" Manta said apologetically while Yoh and I looked around the room.

"You came with the interest of this town's history. I can't just send you back." the man replied.

"Thanks." I said gratefully.

"Um, about the Harusame…" Yoh said getting straight to the point.

The man laughed and spoke.

"That's right. Harusame will be happy too."

"The katana will be happy?" Manta asked in confusion.

The man walked through the doorway and led us over to a display case with an ancient sword inside of it.

"So this is the Harusame…" Yoh said once we made it to Amidamaru's sword.

It definitely showed its wear and tare. The sword was so old that it looked like it could fall apart at any moment!

"It is said that Amidamaru, the Devil, loved this katana. So much he was able to wield it, as if it were part of his own body."

"Wow…" I said impressed as I looked at it amazed along with Manta and Yoh.

"Anyway, what did you mean by what you said before, that the Harusame will be happy." Manta asked the man.

"There's a rumor that Harusame sheds tears at night. It is said that even sniffling sounds can be heard. A katana is the spirit of a samurai after all. There must be a strong bond between Amidamaru and Harusame. If possible, I wanted it to be placed next to his tombstone… Well, at least someone came by. Why don't you be Harusame's companion, in place of Amidamaru? Harusame will surely be happy." the man said before he left us to look at the sword by ourselves.

"Um, even if you're a shaman, you can't talk to katana's, right? Manta asked.

"Who knows…" Yoh said before he walked over to the bench that was next to the display case.

"Y-You can?" Manta asked as Yoh sat down.

"Ah, forget about it. Besides, don't you want to see when Harusame cries?"

"Th-That is…"

"I know that I'm interested." I said before I sat down next to him on the bench.

"Right? Then let's wait."

I don't know how long we were there but it was late enough that Manta eventually fell asleep on his book while lying down on the bench as we patiently waited for something to happen. My parents weren't going to be happy when I came home but at the moment I was too intrigued to really care. I wanted to see Harusame cry just as much as Yoh and Manta did.

My eyes widened when I heard something grumble and Manta opened his eyes before he looked over at Yoh in worry.

"Yoh."

"I'm hungry. Want to go buy something?" Yoh asked as he rubbed his stomach.

A look of amusement appeared on my face as Manta fell to the floor in disbelief.

"Are you trying to use me as your servant?" Manta said annoyed as he stood up from the floor.

"Well, actually, I don't have any money…" Yoh said with a sheepish smile.

"Leave it to you to not have money for food." I said as I laughed.

"Jeez… Besides…" Manta started to say before we all heard something else.

I looked over at the display case in curiosity when I heard something like dripping water coming from its direction.

"Wh-What time… is it?" Manta said with a scared look on his face as he also looked towards the sword.

There was a large puddle of water that was forming on the floor as water droplets dripped from the surface of the display case that was above it.

"I-It's crying! The Harusame's crying!" Manta said as he hid his body behind the bench and shook in fear.

"Look carefully. It's not the Harusame that's crying. It's that man." Yoh said as he stood up.

There was a man that was floating over the display case with his face contorted in pain as he cried. He had shoulder length brown hair that was in a low ponytail and a short brown beard on his chin that matched the hair on top of his head. His outfit was a simple pair of black shorts and a black shirt that was opened and showed off his well sculpted chest with sleeves that went down to just below his elbows. As he bowed his head the stray hairs that were around his face hung loosely forward.

"I-It has shown itself!" Manta shouted as he flailed his arms around.

"Wh-What do you mean, "shown itself"? You guys can see me?" the man asked with his brown eyes wide in shock.

"Yeah, clearly." Manta said almost in tears as I just nodded my head up and down in response.

"This isn't good… I'm embarrassed that you saw that." the spirit said as he turned his back to us and wiped his eyes with his hands.

"You don't have to be embarrassed. When a man cries, there's a good reason behind it. Isn't that right?" Yoh said.

"What's going on? Who are you people?" the man asked tensely.

"I'm Yoh. These are my friends Manta and (Name)."

"H-Hi…" Manta said in fear.

"Hi." I said with a smile on my face as I waved at him.

"I'm Mosuke, a sword smith." the man said.

"Mosuke? That's some old name." Yoh said with a smile.

"It's from 600 years ago! Of course it's old!" Mosuke shouted annoyed.

"Oh, that's right." Yoh said as he laughed.

"600 years? That's during the same era as Amidamaru's legend." Manta said.

"Do you know Amidamaru?" Mosuke asked with an intense look on his face.

Manta yelped out in fear and hid his face behind the bench.

"A little… By the way, why are you haunting the Harusame? That's Amidamaru's katana, isn't it?" Yoh asked.

"This is… also my katana. The Harusame… was forged by me." he said with pain in his voice as he looked back down.

"No way! Then Amidamaru…" Manta said in surprise.

"Yes, I know him well. I was the one… who killed him."

"You killed him?" I asked in confusion and surprise.

"Eh?! That devil?!" Manta shouted in shock.

"Idiot!" Mosuke shouted angrily as he yelled at Manta.

"Ah!" Manta shouted in fear.

"Don't… Don't you dare call him a devil! He's… He's not like…" Mosuke tried to say before he started to cry again.

"He isn't a bad person." I said as I stood up.

"Yeah, Amidamaru isn't an evil being." Yoh said as he agreed with me and Mosuke.

Mosuke stopped crying and looked at us in surprise.

"Mosuke. Tell me. What happened 600 years ago? What's the relationship between you and Amidamaru?" Yoh asked.

"He's… Amidamaru is… my one and only true friend…" Mosuke said.

After that he began to tell us his story.

"It was a miserable era… War didn't know how to stop… Great starvation, terror from bandits, people were mercilessly killed. In that kind of living hell, we lived to make our dreams come true. Eventually we wandered to a place where a Shogun resided and he decided to take us in because of a sword that I had crafted and we were both overjoyed. But in the end, Hell was still Hell. The Shogun asked Amidamaru to kill me so there wouldn't be another copy of the sword that I created. Being the great friend that he is, he told me as soon as he could but when I told him to kill me he told me to run away. In return for his kindness I asked him to give me the Harusame. I wanted to give him the finest sword made by my hand. Before we parted I told him that I would make it in half a day and that I wanted to meet him the next night in order to give it to him. We both shook hands and promised each other that we would meet before parting ways… Those were the last words we exchanged."

"The last?" Manta asked.

"Yeah… There was someone spying on us at the site. He reported to the shogun… I was killed and that night… he became a legend. Because of his powerful battle techniques, he was nicknamed the Devil. However, without the Harusame, Amidamaru… eventually ran out of strength. And…"

"He died." I said sadly as I finished the story for him.

"If I didn't exist, he wouldn't have died! It's the same as killing him myself! Him being called the Devil is all my… So until I give him the Harusame as I promised… I can't rest in peace!"

"Then go give it to him." Yoh said.

"Yeah! Amidamaru is waiting for you too! He's been waiting for 600 years, in the promised place!" Manta said while crying since he was touched by his sad story.

"What?!" Mosuke said in shock.

"Well, let's go." Yoh said.

"That is… impossible. The Harusame being in this condition… And to see his face now…"

"It's okay. Leave it to me. I'm a shaman. One who connects this world and the otherworld." Yoh said as he placed his right hand on his chest.

"A shaman?!"

"Use my body, Mosuke. Then make the finest katana."

"Is such a thing possible?!"

"Yeah, it's possible. Let's go, Mosuke!"

Mosuke made a sound of surprise as his body was changed into a red spirit ball.

"Mosuke, Spirit Ball Mode! Over Soul Merge! Mosuke!" Yoh shouted before he pushed the spirit ball into his chest.

I felt a twinge of pain in my heart once again as the boy with purple eyes and black hair popped into my mind before I quickly pushed the image out of my mind. This was not the time to think of the past. We needed to help Mosuke pass on to the otherworld and also help Amidamaru.

"Did you say your names were Manta and (Name)? Take me to the nearest iron factory." Mosuke said with determination as Yoh let him take complete control of his body.

We spent a good portion of the night waiting for Mosuke to finish making his sword after we located an iron factory that was in town. Once it was completed Manta, Yoh, and I stared at it in awe. It really was an incredible sword!

"Thank you for helping me fulfill my promise to Amidamaru. Now I can finally rest in peace knowing that he will finally receive the Harusame. I'm counting on you to deliver it for me."

"You're not going to deliver it yourself?" I asked him in surprise.

"No." he said as he shook his head and white light started to surround him that led up towards the sky.

"Are you sure that you don't want to see him one last time?" I asked him.

"I can't face him after making him wait 600 years."

"I don't think that he would care about that. He would probably just be happy to see you after all this time. After all, you guys were best friends. You went through so much together while you were alive and supported each other."

"Yes, we did."

"I-I just don't want you to regret not seeing him one last time."

He looked at me with a small smile on his lips before he spoke.

"As long as he gets the Harusame I won't have any regrets."

"I… We'll make sure to give it to him." I said finally giving in to his demand.

"Thank you." he said with a bright smile on his face.

"Well, lets go give Amidamaru the Harusame." Yoh said.

"Right." I said as I nodded my head.

"Wait, I have a message that I want you to tell him for me: "I made you wait."" he said as he started to ascend towards the sky.

"We'll tell him." I said with a small smile as tears started to gather in my eyes.

He just nodded at me one last time before he disappeared from view. Finally after all this time he was able to rest in peace.

"Alright, let's go." Yoh said before he started to walk out of the building.

"R-Right." I said as I stopped myself from crying before I turned around and followed him and Manta out of the building and we headed towards the cemetery.

The only thing on my mind was making sure to get the sword to Amidamaru. Mosuke was counting on us and I wasn't going to let him down no matter what.

"Hey, Amidamaru! We have something for you." I said as I greeted him while he stood in front of his headstone.

"You have something for me?" he asked in confusion.

Yoh took the sword in his hands and unsheathed it to show him.

"Th-This is… the Harusame! Could it be that you…" Amidamaru said as he looked at the sword in Yoh's hands almost speechless.

"Mosuke was still wandering in this world, without being able to rest." Manta said.

"It's true that only he could've forged this sword."

"A message from Mosuke: "I made you wait." Or so he says." Yoh said as he put the sword back into its sheath.

"Where is Mosuke?" Amidamaru asked expectantly.

"He doesn't exist anymore. He said he can't face you after making you wait 600 years. So he left for the otherworld."

"That's exactly like him." Amidamaru said as he laughed and tears came to the corners of his eyes.

Yoh placed the sword on the ground in front of him and spoke.

"Now you can also rest in peace… I'll leave this here. Later."

Yoh turned around and walked past us.

"Wait, wait! Wait for me, Yoh!" Manta shouted as he ran after him.

"Bye. I hope that you can finally see Mosuke soon." I said with a smile on my face before I turned around and followed Manta and Yoh.

Not long after that a shining white light seemed to engulf the area around him that went straight up into the sky just like it had with Mosuke and we stopped on the stairs to look at the scene from afar.

"Since he no longer has any attachments to this world, Amidamaru can rest in peace just like Mosuke, right? Now it's no longer possible to make Amidamaru your primary spirit." Manta said.

"I guess… I did a regrettable thing. To find a strong spirit like him isn't easy. Oh well, it's for the best if he just rests in peace." Yoh said.

"Yoh, could it be… that from the very beginning, you were planning to… Was that it, Yoh?!"

Yoh really was kind. Despite knowing that helping Amidamaru meant that he wouldn't be able to have him as his primary spirit he still decided to help him so he could finally rest in peace.

"I found you… kid." Ryu said as he stood in front of us with his wooden sword in his hand.

"Ah! Ryu of the Wooden Sword!" Manta shouted in alarm.

"Yo!" Yoh said with a relaxed grin on his face as he waved at him.

I looked over at him with an incredulous look on my face.

"Yo, my ass because you messed up my hairdo, I'm the laughing stock of the whole town… no, the world! I will return the favor! Prepare yourself!" Ryu shouted before he charged at us.

"Ah!" we all shouted in alarm before we started to run up the stairs again to get away from him.

Once we made it back up to the top of the stairs I accidentally tripped over the last step and fell to the ground. Ryu was close behind us and I squeezed my eyes shut as I prepared myself to get hit by his sword but nothing ever happened. Instead, I heard Manta and Yoh yell out in pain before I quickly opened my eyes and looked over in their direction to see that they were a little ways away from me near the bridge with Ryu next to them.

"Why?" Manta asked in pain.

"You okay, Manta?" Yoh asked.

"You should worry more about yourself than others!" Ryu said before he swung his sword down at them and Yoh narrowly avoided his attack.

"W-Wait!" I shouted in alarm before I stood up and tried to head towards them.

I took a few long strides forward but then suddenly a strong wind stopped me from getting any closer. I immediately knew that the spirit was trying to stop me from getting involved but I chose to ignore it and continued to attempt to get to them in order to help them out.

"Don't expect me to forgive you with that little bit of punishment!"

"Aren't you over-reacting? It's only hair." Yoh said.

"That's not the only reason! This is still my Best Place!" he shouted at he attacked them with his sword again.

Yoh jumped back a little and just barely avoided the attack.

"Stop it!" I shouted out to Ryu as I fought against the wind and somehow managed to take a few steps forward.

"Since everyone is annoyed with you, go find somewhere else to terrorize!" Yoh shouted.

"Everyone?" Ryu said annoyed before he swung down at them again.

Yoh just barely managed to dodge his attack and spoke out in relief.

"That was close…"

"There is no need to dodge!" Ryu shouted before he managed to hit them several times.

"No! Let me help them damn it!" I shouted at the spirit that was stopping me from getting any closer to them.

I took a few more steps in their direction and finally reached the bridge.

"Looks like you're cornered now." Ryu said once they were all on the other side of the bridge and Yoh and Manta were against Amidamaru's headstone.

"You're pretty persistent." Yoh said with a small smile.

"Should I finish it now?" Ryu said before he raised his sword above his head.

"Lord Yoh!" I heard Amidamaru shout from up above.

"Let me through!" I shouted as I pushed against the wind with all of my might.

"This is the end!" Ryu shouted before he swung down.

The wind became so intense that I ended up being lifted into the air and flew backwards a few feet before I landed on my back on the ground. Before I could stand back up I sat up and looked across the bridge in worry and saw that Yoh had managed to catch the sword before it hit him. If I wasn't mistaken it also looked like Amidamaru was in his body.

"Why? This has nothing to do with you." I heard Yoh say to himself.

"Of course it has something to do with me. It is a samurai's duty to return a favor." I heard Amidamaru's voice say from within Yoh.

"Stubborn…"

"W-What are you mumbling about?" Ryu asked annoyed and slightly taken off guard by the fact that Yoh had caught his sword.

"Are you ready?!" Yoh and Amidamaru shouted at the same time before they used Ryu's sword to throw him into the tree that was next to them.

After Ryu was defeated I quickly stood up and ran over to them as the wind disappeared.

"Manta! Yoh!" I shouted before I kneeled down in front of my cousin who was still lying on the ground in pain.

He was pretty beaten up but I don't think that it was as bad as it was last time.

Yoh and Amidamaru broke their merge and Amidamaru appeared in his full form in front of Yoh.

"Thank you. You saved me… Now go. Mosuke is waiting for you." Yoh said to Amidamaru.

"It seems like I can't do that anymore."

"Huh?"

"Even though I would like to follow Mosuke, it looks like it's going to be a while before I get to go to the otherworld."

I blinked over at him in surprise but I was also happy that Yoh had finally managed to get Amidamaru to be his primary spirit. Manta groaned in front of me and I looked back down at him as he struggled to sit up from his spot on the ground. I felt the spirit come closer to me and my annoyance at him resurfaced since he stopped me from helping out Yoh and Manta.

"Yoh…" I said with annoyance clear in my voice as I stood up.

"Y-Yeah." he said as he looked at me in slight fear as he noticed my angry face.

"Ask that annoying spirit of mine why the hell he stopped me from helping you guys!" I shouted causing everyone around me to jump.

There was a moment of silence between us and just as I was about to completely lose my patience I decided to speak up again.

"You know what, actually, I want to hear it right from the horse's mouth! Yoh, can you merge with him for a moment so I can talk to him?" I asked with a strained smile on my face while my right eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"U-Uh sure." he said hesitantly before he merged with the spirit.

"So, why did you do it?" I said as I glared at him/Yoh.

"I did it to protect you."

"I don't need protected. I can handle myself just fine." I said stubbornly.

"What would you have done?! You would have just been beaten up like Yoh and Manta!"

"I…" I began to say as I tried to come up with something that I could have done to help them.

"He's right (Name). Ryu wasn't after you he was after me and Yoh. It wouldn't have done any good for you to get hurt too." Manta said after he had finally managed to stand up.

"But… I… I don't…"

I don't want to end up regretting not doing anything to help them when I was there and could do something… I wanted to help them!

That's what I wanted to say but the words wouldn't come out of my mouth. By not helping them out it's just like I was an accomplice in hurting them. On the other hand, the spirit was right... If anything I probably would have caused more problems for them. I felt a familiar feeling of hopelessness and guilt return to me. An image of the boy with purple eyes and short black hair appeared in my mind as he stood in front of me protectively with his samurai sword in his hand. Just like that time I ended up not being able to do anything and ended up getting involved when I couldn't do anything about it.

"(Name)?" Manta asked in concern from my silence.

"I… It's nothing…" I said as I shook my head to rid myself of the image.

I smiled at him with a relaxed look on my face as I hid the emotions that were flowing through me.

The spirit looked at me for a few moments before I spoke again.

"I'll concede this time. I probably would have just ended up getting in the way, right?"

"That's not-" the spirit started to say before I cut him off.

"It's fine. I get it. I'm not angry anymore… Thanks for protecting me."

Yoh's face had a look that I couldn't describe on it and it looked as if the spirit wanted to say more but he couldn't put whatever it was to words. For some reason as he looked at me it felt like he could see right through me, like he could see the whirlwind of emotions that were flowing through me even though I was masking them with all of my might behind a relaxed smile.

"Well I'm going to head home now that everything's been settled. My parents are already going to have a fit since it's so late. See you later!" I said as I turned away from everyone so I wouldn't have to see the look on the spirits face any longer and headed home.

That was the hardest part of being with a shaman. It sometimes brought back painful memories... However, when I suppressed those memories like I did most of the time and simply focused on the fact that I was with Yoh and Manta it brought happiness back into my once dull, unfulfilling, life. I wasn't going to let my past get in the way of now and the future no matter what. It's just like every other time I thought of that boy when I was younger.

"I'm over it." I said to myself as I repeated the words that I always said whenever I thought of him.


	4. Chapter 4: Dangerous Boy

**Chapter 4: Dangerous Boy**

A couple of months have passed since Yoh made Amidamaru his primary spirit and now the weather was unbearably hot outside. The real kicker was the fact the air conditioner in my cram school decided that today was a good day for it to break. I guess the good side to that though is the fact that the teacher decided that she would let us out of class 30 minutes early since we were all miserable. It was probably the quickest I had ever left a building.

"Good, now I can finally go home." I said tiredly as I pulled my bangs back with my right hand and walked towards home.

It was considerably cooler outside now that the sun was down. In fact, it was actually bearable. After I was outside long enough I didn't really feel like going home yet since I had been at school all day. I just wanted to relax for a few minutes. It would probably be good for me since the pressure was on for me to prepare for college now that I was in my last year of high school. The spirit wasn't around me like he usually was but I wasn't too worried about it since I knew that he'd be able to find me sooner or later. He did know where I lived after all.

I didn't even realize it until a little while later that I was headed in the opposite direction of my house. As I wandered around I felt a very familiar feeling in my gut that led me to some unknown destination. It didn't feel quite like the last time I was led somewhere though. There was something strange about it. It almost seemed like someone was actually calling out to me for some unknown reason but I didn't have an urgent feeling.

"Where in the world am I?" I said to myself as I stood on the empty side walk in front of a large hotel building.

The pulling feeling had stopped but there was no one around me for me to meet.

Why was I led to a completely deserted area? Was the person that I am supposed to meet inside the hotel? But if that were the case then why did the pulling feeling go away instead of leading me directly to the person? Was I wrong about the fact that I was supposed to meet someone? Is there something else that's here that I'm supposed to find or do? If that was the case though, why do I feel like someone is calling out to me still?

"Damn it. I don't understand this at all…" I mumbled to myself before I walked up to the hotel and sat down on the top front stair of the building.

Whatever it was would reveal itself in due time I guess. Normally when I'm led somewhere though, I don't have to wait for something to come to me it's already there. It doesn't make any sense why the pulling feeling would stop if I wasn't in my intended location though so I guess I just have to give it the benefit of the doubt. The few times that I've felt it, it hasn't disappointed me or led me astray…

"I hope that I don't have to wait too long. I still have homework to do that's due tomorrow…" I said to myself before I leaned forward as I put my elbow on the top of my leg and held my head in my right hand.

As if whatever I was waiting for wanted to test my patience, I ended up waiting another 30 minutes while I looked at the sky in boredom.

Sure, I wanted to relax but this was completely ridiculous. Besides, the fact that I knew that I was waiting for something or someone to show up wasn't relaxing in the slightest. I wanted to know what or who it was that was calling out to me. The anticipation was killing me!

Finally answering my plea I heard light foot steps on the sidewalk and looked down to see a relatively thin boy that was around the same age as Yoh and Manta, if not a little younger considering his height, walking towards the front of the hotel. His outfit was a school uniform that didn't look like it belonged to any school that was around here and consisted of a pair of black shorts, a white dress shirt that was tucked in, an open yellow jacket, a dark green tie, and a pair of brown shoes. He had his purple hair up into a spike at the back of his head that made him look taller then he was and piercing gold eyes.

Was this the person that I was supposed to meet? The closer he walked to the entrance of the hotel the more I realized that it more than likely was. The feeling that I had around him was similar to the feeling I had around Yoh indicating that he was more than likely another shaman. The only thing was that he seemed really different then Yoh. Actually to be blunt he seemed borderline on dangerous. His eyes were cold and there was a dangerous look in his eyes. Why in the hell would my gut feeling lead me here?!

He looked at me and glared once he realized that I was staring at him and I felt a shiver run down my spine as his eyes pierced through me. I really wanted to believe that I was wrong about this boy being the person that I was waiting for to show up but the feeling in my gut was telling me that he was exactly who I was waiting for. Due to the stress of the situation I quickly stood up and ended up blurting out the first thing that came to my mind once he was close enough to hear me.

"Are you the person who's calling out to me?"

He looked slightly taken off guard by the question as he stopped walking. His glare that had been directed at me intensified ten fold, something that shouldn't have even been possible, before he spoke.

"Who are you?" he asked me coldly as he assessed the situation.

My question must have sent warning bells off in his head… Why in the hell did I have to blurt that out of all things?!

"U-Um…Well… It's kind of hard to explain…" I said nervously.

"Explain." he said before he quickly pulled out a Kwan Dao and pointed the blade at me as a spirit materialized behind him.

The spirit was a large man that looked like some kind of warrior who had dangerous looking glowing red eyes that were shaded by his helmet. His armor consisted of a green chest plate, green shoulder guards, purple upper arm guards, purple armor gloves, a purple stomach guard with a large red spot in the middle, and a purple helmet that all had gold trimming. Underneath his armor his wore a simple white robe and over his shoulders was a frayed red cape.

"I-I guess I'll start with my name… I'm (First Name) (Last Name) and-"

"(First Name) (Last Name)…? You're (Name)?" he asked in shock and disbelief.

His eyes widened as he looked at me in recognition and he took another inspection of my face.

"Y-Yes…? Do I know you from somewhere?" I asked him in confusion and I looked at him wearily.

I think I would have remembered meeting a boy like him…

"No… I-"

Before he could finish a huge gust of wind blew through the area and I felt the spirit move next to me. He must have decided to look for me when he realized that I had left cram school early. But something didn't feel right. He was normally calm but right now I sensed worry and fear permeating the area. Was it because this boy was pointing his Kwan Dao at me?

"H-Hey, everything's okay. He hasn't done anything to hurt me." I said loudly as I tried to calm him down.

I looked back towards the boy and noticed that his eyes had widened in shock as pain and sadness passed through them and he lowered his Kwan Dao. It looked like he was staring at me but I knew that it was something that was in front of me, more then likely the spirit.

"W-What are you doing here?" the boy asked in a whisper with pain evident in his voice.

In response the wind around us only intensified and I found myself being pushed down the stairs of the hotel and away from the boy.

"W-Wait, what's going on?!" I shouted in alarm since I didn't understand why the spirit was acting like this.

All I knew right now is that the spirit seemed like he wanted to make sure to get me away from the boy as fast as possible.

"H-Hey!" the boy shouted.

I looked back at him with wide eyes as he reached out towards us. The wind somehow managed to intensify even more and the boy was thrown backwards onto the ground while I was forced to run forward unless I wanted to be picked up by the wind and thrown face first onto the ground. This was the first time that I've ever felt the wind around me become this strong. The sense of urgency that the spirit had made me give into his demands and I ran out of the area as quickly as possible and left the boy in front of the hotel. Whatever reason that boy somehow called out to me would have to wait until later if I ever ran into him again. The spirit didn't stop producing his wind as he continued to push me forward until I was standing on the front doorstep to my house. Even after I was inside of my house for a few hours and I had finished my homework he seemed like he was still on edge.

When I lied down on my bed and closed my eyes to go to sleep my mind was racing from the events that took place only a few hours earlier. The spirit was definitely protecting me from something but what that was I hadn't a clue. Even if that boy seemed like he was dangerous I'm a little doubtful that he was entirely the reason why the spirit wanted me to get away from him. Now that I was thinking about that boy, why did he act like he recognized the spirit? Why was there so much pain in his eyes? Did he somehow know the spirit while he was still alive? Also, what was he going to say to me before he was interrupted? He said that we've never met before but how did he know who I was? Why did he already act like he knew me?

Those thoughts kept swirling through my mind until I was finally able to fall asleep. But three final questions crossed my mind before I managed to settle down. Who was that boy from earlier? What is the identity of the spirit that protects me? And why does he protect me?


	5. Chapter 5: Ayumi Sohma

**Chapter 5: Ayumi Sohma**

The day after I met that boy I told Yoh and Manta about what happened but the reason for the spirits response that night hasn't been answered. Yoh and Manta tried to ask him about it but all they were left with was silence from what they told me or a response from him saying that it was nothing and that we didn't need to worry about it. In the end we eventually gave up on trying to get an answer since we knew that no matter how much they asked they weren't going to get one from him.

During the few days that followed my encounter the spirit never left my side even while I was in school. After a week he had calmed down quite a bit and was almost back to his usual self but I could still sense a feeling of uneasiness within him. Even now that it had been two weeks he was keeping close tabs on me and never left me alone for extended periods of time. At least he felt like he could leave me alone long enough to go to school again but I had a feeling that he didn't wander too far away from the area.

To be honest, the way he was reacting to the situation worried me a little bit. Why did he feel like he needed to become so overprotective of me just because I ran into a boy that looked no older then Yoh or Manta? He did look dangerous when I first saw him, especially when he pulled his weapon out and pointed it at me, but when he realized who I was and when he saw the spirit it didn't feel like he was a threat.

"This heat is almost unbearable." I said while Yoh, Manta, and I were all sitting underneath the shade of the tree next to Amidamaru's headstone.

"Yeah." Manta said as he agreed with me.

"I hope that they get the air conditioning fixed at my cram school."

"What?! The air conditioner doesn't work?!"

"No. It's hell absolute hell…" I said.

"Don't you have cram school again tomorrow?"

"Yeah…" I said with dread.

Now that I've been around them for a couple of months I've been able to get used to the idea that I can see spirits. I suppose though that I was forced to get used to it since one of their usual hangout spots was the cemetery. Manta, however, still hasn't adjusted to the fact he can see them. Whenever one suddenly pops up he tends to freak out and I can't help but find it amusing every time. It's a normal response but I've been able to see them for so long that when they appear it doesn't freak me out. Truth be told, it didn't freak me out when I first started to be able to see them. In fact, I found it more fascinating then anything even if I couldn't see them clearly. It wasn't until I could see them clearly that I freaked out since I knew that it wasn't normal for me and I started to avoid cemeteries all together until I met Yoh.

We would normally walk around after hanging out at the cemetery for an extended period of time but today we stayed where we were since it was so hot outside. The three of us lied down on the grass as the sky turned dark and looked up at the star filled sky as we simply enjoyed the sight and each others company.

"I just can't get over the fact that there is a place nearby that we can actually see the stars clearly." I said after a while of staring up at the sky.

"Yeah." Manta said as he agreed with me.

"The stars are really pretty." Yoh said happily.

"Yeah." Manta and I said at the same time as we agreed with Yoh.

Another feeling in my gut suddenly hit me full force and I looked around the area in confusion as Manta and Yoh continued to look up at the sky. The pulling feeling that I usually had wasn't as strong as it was the day that I met that boy or the night that I was led into the cemetery which indicated that I was already near whatever it was that was trying to pull me to it. But, just like when I was led to that boy I felt like someone was calling out to me. I tried to ignore the feeling for a little while but when I couldn't ignore it anymore I stood up and looked around again.

"(Name)?" Manta asked in confusion as he and Yoh looked over at me.

"I feel something." I said with a frown.

"Just like you did when you met that boy a couple weeks ago?"

"Yeah, only this time the pull isn't as strong. I feel like I'm already close to whoever is calling out to me."

"Well, let's go see." Yoh said as he stood up and dusted off his pants.

I felt the spirit become nervous and Yoh spoke up in response to whatever he said.

"It's fine. Let's just go see what is it and if you think its dangerous then we'll just leave. Okay?" he said reassuringly.

Manta stood up and they looked at me expectantly before I led them to some unknown location.

As it turned out, my assumption was right. We didn't even have to leave the cemetery. The three of us stared at a dirt pathway that was in front of us in confusion.

"Hey, did you guys ever notice this was here before?" I asked them.

"No." Yoh and Manta said at the same time as they shook their heads.

I took a step forward and walked down the pathway as the others followed behind me. When we made it to the end we came across a large clearing that had been hidden from view by the thick trees that surrounded the area. In the center of it was a single headstone. Around the headstone were five large pillar like boulders that had a star carved into each of them which formed a large circle around it.

"Wow…" I said in amazement as I stared at the area.

"Is this where we're supposed to go (Name)?" Manta asked in confusion.

My eyes widened when I realized that the pulling sensation was completely gone and I nodded my head.

"Y-Yeah."

"But there's nothing here except for a headstone…"

"No… There's something else here." Amidamaru said as if he was prepared for a fight.

The spirit felt like he was on edge just like Amidamaru. It was strange though, I didn't see anything in the area but I also knew that there was something here. We cautiously walked closer to the headstone but once I took a step inside of the circle of boulders I heard the others yell out in surprise. I quickly turned around and saw that they had been pushed back as they crashed down onto the ground a few feet away.

"Guys!" I shouted in alarm.

When I tried to run towards them I was stopped by some sort of strange clear blue barrier that surrounded the area.

If there was a barrier around this area why was I allowed in and the others were pushed away? Why couldn't I get back out?

The strange pulling feeling that I had before suddenly came back with a vengeance and increased ten fold. I immediately turned around to look at the center of the circle where the headstone was with a look of confusion on my face. It was then that I noticed three feet away from the headstone were five small stones that had been place around it in a circle which had the same star symbol carved on top of them.

"(Name)!" Manta yelled out.

I looked at him from over my shoulder and saw that he was trying to get inside of the barrier along with Yoh who had merged with Amidamaru.

The pull towards the headstone was too strong though and I looked back at it. I heard the others shout out in protest as I stepped forward but I ignored them. It was almost as if I was in some sort of trance. I couldn't stop myself from walking closer to it. As I walked closer and closer a strong wind engulfed the area and another barrier appeared around the headstone as the stars on the small stones began to glow.

Whoever was calling out to me must have been sealed behind it but why? For what purpose? I didn't get a bad feeling from whoever it was. It only felt like they were seeking my help.

When I finally made it to the small barrier I looked at it for a minute as I wondered what it was I was supposed to do now that I was here. My hair and clothing were blowing wildly with the wind and it felt like the power that was coming from the barrier was trying to push me away from it but for some reason or another its attempts were coming out unsuccessful. I felt a pair of eyes observing me closely and I looked up and found the boy with the warrior spirit hidden in the shadows of the trees as they stared at me with wide eyes and struggled against the wind. I also caught sight of another boy who stood a little ways behind them where the moonlight protruded through the dense trees as he watched me with interest.

He looked just like Yoh except for the fact that the back of his hair was long enough to reach past his waist and his bangs reached just below his chest. His clothes were a cream colored cloak that covered his upper body, a pair of black fingerless gloves with red lining and a pair of dark red baggy pants with a few straps on each leg. He was too far away for me to see what the pattern was on the large round earrings that hung from his ears.

Amazingly enough, the wind was strong enough that it reached all the way over to him but he didn't have to struggle against it like the others were.

The pull from the headstone became too much for me to ignore once again and I looked away from them in order to look back at the barrier. I hesitantly reached my hand out to touch it as I wondered what I was supposed to do about it and surprisingly hairline cracks started to form along its surface the closer my hand came to touching it. I paused for a moment right before I decided to touch it and once my fingers touched the barrier it completely shattered. The wind that had once engulfed the entire area suddenly disappeared and everything was still once again like everything that had just happened didn't even occur.

"W-What just happened?" I asked myself as I blinked at the spot where the small barrier had been.

I looked down at the small stones on the ground the headstone and they had large cracks where the stars were carved into them.

"(Name)!" I heard Manta shout.

I quickly turned around and looked at him and Yoh as they charged at the spot where the large barrier had been. Unlike all their other attempts they managed to make it through the circle without any problems since the barrier had completely disappeared just like the small one that had shattered when I touched it just a few moments before. I looked over at one of the large pillar like boulders and saw that it resembled its smaller counterparts. It had large cracks that almost went completely through it. Did I somehow break the barriers that had been keeping this area blocked off? Why had it been sealed off to begin with?

When Yoh and Manta reached me I was engulfed by a warm and yet worried presence as the wind picked up again for a moment to indicate that the spirit had also made it over to me. If I could see him he would probably be hugging me right now. That's what it felt like anyway. Manta also hugged my leg tightly happy and relieved that I was okay and that they were finally able to reach me. Yoh and Amidamaru weren't merged anymore but they were looking at something that was behind me.

"Who are you?" I heard a woman's voice say from behind me.

Manta let go of me and then yelled out in surprise as he jumped back and the spirit pushed me forward with a strong gust of wind so that I stood behind Yoh.

When I was finally able to turn around I saw a woman with pale skin who was wearing a Japanese priestess outfit which was a white top with loose long sleeves and a pair of very loose fitting red pants that were tied by a red belt that held a Sai over each hip. Her long black hair was in a high ponytail that reached her waist and her bangs were parted to the side and went down to her chin. What captivated me the most was her sad looking emerald green eyes, there was a deep loneliness held within their depths.

"Yo. I'm Yoh Asakura and these are my friends Manta Oyamada, Amidamaru, (First Name) (Last Name), and I'm not sure what his name is." Yoh said with a relaxed grin.

"H-Hi…" Manta said nervously.

"Hello." I said unsure of how I should react to her.

"Asakura?" she said in surprise and recognition of his last name.

"Yeah." Yoh said with a nod.

"Were you the one who freed me?"

"No."

"Then which one of you was it?" she asked as she looked over at the rest of us.

"I-It was me. I think." I said as I spoke up again.

"You think?" she said with a perplexed expression on her face.

"Yeah, I don't know what exactly happened. I was able to walk through the first barrier that surrounded you without a problem unlike the others and the second I touched the other one it just shattered."

"Y-You just walked right through it?" she said taken off guard.

"Y-Yeah." I said.

"That's impossible!" she said in shock.

"It's true. (Name) was the one who broke your seals by simply touching the barrier that appeared next to your headstone." Yoh said.

"...You must be very powerful then." she said after a few moments as she looked at me with wide eyes.

"N-Not really…" I said shyly.

"Don't be modest. It would take an incredible amount of skill and power to be able to break these barriers."

"R-Really I'm not. I'm not even a shaman. The only thing I can do is see spirits and I can't necessarily do that right since I can't see the spirit that Yoh doesn't know the name to."

"What?" she said as she looked at me surprised once again.

"It's true." Yoh said as he nodded his head.

"Then how did you find out about this area? I'm certain that this place had been sealed off and hidden away so that no one would be able to find it even if they were intentionally looking." she said as she gave all of us an incredulous look.

"I had a feeling in my gut." I said.

"What?"

"It felt like someone was calling out to me. That's what led us here."

She just blinked at me trying to process what I was saying before she shook her head in amazement.

"You're sure that you're not a shaman?"

"Yes."

"Who are you?" Yoh asked her.

"Ayumi Sohma."

"Ayumi Sohma? …Ah! Are you the priestess that managed to save this town 1,000 years ago?!" Manta shouted in shock.

"A 1,000 years ago?!"

"Yeah, you've been dead for 1,000 years…" Manta said as he cowered back in fear due to her outburst.

"What?! You mean to tell me that I've been sealed for 500 years?!" she shouted.

"Apparently." Yoh said as he laughed.

"It's not funny!"

"So why were you sealed in the first place?" I asked her in confusion.

"…I tried to stop an incredibly powerful shaman from destroying all of humanity. In return he sealed me away until you somehow broke his seal."

"So those kinds of things really happened back then? It sounds like some sort of anime."

Yoh laughed at my comment while Manta gave me a deadpanned expression.

"What's an anime?" she asked in confusion.

"I-It's nothing." Manta said.

I remembered the boy with golden eyes and his spirit and the boy that looked like Yoh and quickly looked over in the area they had been standing in but they were no where in sight.

It was strange. I wasn't sure what to make of the boy that looked like Yoh. He looked friendly enough but there was something that seemed almost sinister about him as he watched me with interest. If it's true that the area was sealed off and hidden from the world how did he find it? How did the other boy find it as well? How did we find it?

"Hey (Name) are you okay?" Manta asked me in concern.

"What?"

"You started to space out…"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry… It's just... I saw a boy who looked like Yoh and the boy that I met a couple of weeks ago when I was about to break the barrier."

I felt the spirit become nervous due to my words.

"What? A boy who looked like Yoh?" Manta said in confusion as they looked over in the direction that I had been looking.

They obviously didn't find anything though since both of them had disappeared.

"Um..." Ayumi said to catch our attention.

We looked over at her again as she continued to speak while she looked at me.

"I know it's a little late to be saying this but thank you for breaking the seal." Ayumi said before she bowed to me in gratitude.

"Oh, you're welcome." I said with a light blush on my cheeks.

After that Manta, Yoh, and I decided to leave the cemetery and headed home. Now that I had accomplished what I was supposed to that gut feeling was gone and it was starting to get pretty late. While I was walking home my mind ended up wandering back to that strange boy that was hidden in the trees. Who was he and why did he look like Yoh?


	6. Chapter 6: Ren Tao

**Chapter 6: Ren Tao**

 _A familiar pair of gold eyes came to my vision as the boy with the warrior spirit appeared in front of me. He was standing on the old building that was in the Funbari Cemetery with his Kwan Dao out as he looked up at the star filled sky._

 _"The moon fades and then hides itself. After that comes a moment of darkness. There's nothing more wonderful than darkness."_

 _After that he looked over at me with a calm expression on his face._

 _"Are you really her?" he asked._

 _There was a look in his eyes that I couldn't describe and I found myself speechless._

 _"Why do you keep calling out to me? Who are you?" I asked as I finally spoke up._

 _He opened his mouth to say something but before he could the image disappeared._

I slowly opened my eyes as my alarm clock went off and I looked over at it annoyed.

This was another result of meeting that boy a couple of weeks ago. He always appeared in my dreams in one way or another and it felt like he was calling out to me at night when I was asleep.

I didn't have time to dwell on it for too long since I had to get ready for school and quickly climbed out of bed. When school was over Manta, Yoh, the spirit, and I walked around until we decided to sit down on a bench. Well, Manta and I did anyway. Yoh decided to work out in front of us instead. I, for one, thought he was insane. The heat was too unbearable.

"Hey, Yoh..." Manta said with a newspaper in his hand as he used it as a fan to blow wind on his face.

"What?" Yoh asked.

"Last night I saw someone like you."

"What? That can't be possible. I don't have a twin brother." Yoh said with a grin as he moved around energetically.

My thoughts immediately went to the boy that looked exactly like him. Out of all things why did he have to mention that?

"Not like a twin brother." Manta said as he closed his eyes.

"Then a twin sister?" Yoh asked with a grin still on his face as he moved around even more energetically.

"That's not it either. I mean someone who has the same aura as you."

"Oh? The same aura, eh?"

"This conversation is tiring."

"Yeah." I said in agreement as I looked at Yoh with a tired expression on my face.

"By the way, what are you doing?"

"I'm fighting the heat!" Yoh said.

"Oh, I see. I thought you were doing shaman training."

"Oh! Now that you mention it, I haven't done anything even resembling training recently!" Yoh said before he laughed.

"You have way too much energy." I said.

"Are you sure that's all right?" Manta asked.

"Yeah, no problem." Yoh said completely relaxed.

"Even though it's really hot, you're really energetic. Since it's summer I don't feel like doing anything."

"If you run from the heat it becomes worse. But, if you stand up to it like this, you can live happily!" Yoh said as he laughed and I looked at him with an incredulous expression on my face.

"You're insane." I said bluntly.

I leaned back against the bench and looked up at the sky.

"I don't understand it, but he sure does seems happy." Manta said as Yoh continued to laugh.

Manta suddenly yelled out and I jumped a little in surprise and looked over at him with wide eyes.

"What?!" I shouted.

"What's wrong, Yoh?!" he shouted as he jumped off the bench.

I looked at him in confusion before my eyes widened as I noticed that Yoh had collapsed.

"Ah! Yoh!" I shouted as I stood up and ran over to his aid like Manta.

"Yoh!" Manta shouted.

When Yoh finally came to we headed over to the closest restaurant we could find and sat down at the table that was inside. The old woman in charge of it took our order and gave us a large pitcher of water to share but we let Yoh drink all of it.

"Ah! I feel alive again!" Yoh said in relief as he smiled.

"Geez, when you do stuff like that, you get dehydrated." Manta said.

"Yeah, my bad." he said before he laughed with his right hand at the back of his head.

I shook my head in disbelief before the old woman walked out of the small kitchen in the back with Manta's and Yoh's shaved ice and my chocolate milk shake.

"Thank you for waiting." the woman said.

"Thank you." I said to her with a small smile as she placed everything on the table.

Yoh made a sound of happiness as the woman went back to the kitchen and spoke with a bright smile.

"They look so good."

"It's not my problem, but if you eat both of those you're going to get a stomachache." Manta said.

"Or brain freeze." I said.

Manta and Yoh looked over at me before they looked at the empty spot to my left and then laughed.

"Hey! What did he say this time?! It's not fair that I can never say anything in my defense!" I shouted.

They didn't respond as they stopped laughing and I decided to eat my ice cream as I pouted a little.

"One of them is for this guy." Yoh said as he took out a mortuary tablet and put it on the table.

"Isn't that a mortuary tablet?! It's not good to bring things like that from home! Mortuary tablets are meant to honor your ancestors' sleeping grounds!" Manta shouted.

"I know that. I made this personally for him." Yoh said as he placed a spoon inside of one of the bowls of shaved ice in front of him.

He used his spoon to clink it against one of the bowls and then Amidamaru appeared on the other side of the table. Manta screamed out in surprise and I looked over at him in amusement.

"Come on. Let's eat before they melt." Yoh said.

"Thank you very much." Amidamaru said with his hands together in a prayer position.

"Amidamaru." Manta said with his left eye twitching as he looked at him with a freaked out expression on his face.

"Now that we're friends, I like being with him." Yoh said with a smile as he looked at Amidamaru.

"At this size, I can get around easily. And it's very convenient." Amidamaru said while he looked at Manta.

"See?" Yoh and Amidamaru said at the same time as they smiled happily at us.

A small smile appeared on my lips as I looked at their happy faces.

"How is it convenient?" Manta asked with a small smile on his lips.

"I don't need an alarm clock. He'll wake me up by cursing me. When I'm lost, he helps me find my way. If some guy threatens me, I'm not scared at all. At night when it's scary to go to the bathroom, he follows me there. Well, it's all good like this." Yoh said before he started to laugh.

I couldn't stop myself from laughing with him. He really is a middle school kid isn't he? I didn't know that he found it scary to go to the bathroom at night.

"That sounds like fun." Manta said.

After we were done hanging out we parted ways and I headed for cram school like usual. When the night was over I went to sleep with a small smile on my face after another day of spending time with my friends.

"(Name)!" Manta yelled out to me as I changed my shoes at my locker after school the next day.

I looked up in confusion as Manta and Yoh approached me and once they made it over to me I spoke.

"Hey guys! What's up? It's strange for you guys to come to me. Normally I have to find you at the school gate."

"Manta wanted to tell us about something." Yoh said.

"Okay, what's up Manta?"

"I'll tell you after we sit down somewhere." Manta said obviously worked up about something.

"Alright…" I said a little worried.

What could he possibly want to tell us about that he doesn't want anyone else to know? It sounded serious whatever it was…

We walked out of the building and off the school grounds and headed to another one of Yoh's favorite relaxation spots which was next to the river. All along the length of the river was a sloped area of grass that went from the sidewalk at the side of the road down to a flat area of grass that touched the edge of the river. It was pretty relaxing to lie down on the grass and look up at the blue sky while listening to the running water of the river that was right next to us.

"What's up Manta? Why are you so worked up?" I asked him after I lied down on the grass.

Yoh was lying next to me on my left while Manta was sitting on the grass on my right and the spirit was next to my head.

"You know that guy that I said I saw the night before last night?" Manta asked.

"Yeah? What about him?"

"I met him again last night!"

"Wow, really? So did you find out who he was?" I asked in curiosity.

"I'm getting to that! He's another shaman that's here in the city!"

"What's so shocking about that? It's not like Yoh's the only shaman." I said in confusion since I didn't understand why he was so worked up about it.

"I know that, but this guy's really dangerous! He cut a truck in two, just like that!"

"What?!" I said in shock as I sat up to look at him.

"Then he said that he was the only shaman needed and that soon he'll be called the Shaman King!"

"Shaman King?" I asked in surprise.

I had definitely heard about the Shaman King but I didn't know what it was.

"Yeah."

"He seriously cut a truck in half? How did he do that?!" I asked him as I paled a little at the thought.

This guy really does sound dangerous...

"He walked out into the street while the light was still red and then pulled out a long weapon that looked like some sort of spear with a sharp blade at the end of it when the driver drove up on him!"

"A spear with a sharp blade… Like a Kwan Dao?" I asked as the boy that I had encountered only two weeks before popped into my head for what seemed like the millionth time.

"Yeah!"

"…What did this boy look like?" I asked wearily.

"He has gold eyes and purple hair styled up in some sort of spike and-"

I immediately felt the spirit become nervous and I cut off Manta as I spoke.

"So it is the same person."

"What? You've met him before?"

"Remember when I told you about how the spirit suddenly pushed me away from a boy that I met around two weeks ago? Well from your description of him it's the same person…"

"What?! You've met that dangerous guy?!"

"Apparently… I thought he was a little dangerous but cutting a truck in half is a bit extreme, isn't it?" I said nervously.

"Yeah, it is!"

"So what's his name? You said that you knew who he was."

"He said that his name was Ren Tao."

"Ren Tao?" I asked with a frown.

"Have you heard that name?" he asked me.

"I'm not sure… It sounds familiar and I don't know why." I said as I tried to think about where I had heard it before.

"What about you Yoh? Have you heard the name Ren Tao?" Manta asked as he looked at him.

"Ren Tao? Nope, I've never heard of that name." Yoh said.

"But he must know you. Otherwise he wouldn't have said that he should be the only shaman." Manta said.

"Even if you put it that way, if I don't know, I don't."

"In my opinion, that kid's spirit is that of a Chinese warrior." Amidamaru said as he appeared next to Yoh with his right hand on his chin.

"Chinese warrior?" I whispered to myself.

"Ah! When did you…?!" Manta shouted in surprise.

Ren Tao and a Chinese warrior… Why was this eluding me so well?! I feel like I've definitely heard that name before and the fact that he has a Chinese warrior by his side is only reaffirming that for some reason. But, why would I have heard of him before? Actually even that boy acted like he had heard of me before but how did he hear about me? Who told him about me? Why would they tell him about me?

"This is very interesting. How are his skills?" Amidamaru asked.

"How should I know? He just looked really strong." Manta said with a concerned expression on his face.

"Stronger than Amidamaru?" Yoh asked as he sat up.

"Hm. Somehow he seemed bigger and more powerful." Manta said as he thought about it.

"I'd like to have a duel with him some time." Amidamaru said excitedly.

"What for? There aren't many who are more skilled than you." Yoh said.

"Is that so?" Amidamaru said embarrassed as he put his right hand behind his head and blushed.

"You're blushing, you're blushing!" Yoh said with a smile as he nudged at him with his elbow.

"Geez, you guys! I'm trying to explain, and you two are joking around." Manta said frustrated as he stood up.

"It's all right, Manta." Yoh said in his normal relaxed manner as he tried to calm him down.

"But he sliced a truck in two!"

"That is a problem. But bad people can't see spirits. I want to find out what kind of person he is." Yoh said with a small smile.

"If you say it's all right…."

The spirit said something to them as they looked over at him and I felt his nervousness skyrocket.

"Is he really that dangerous?" Manta asked him.

"But he's not a bad person if he can see spirits." Yoh said.

There was a moment of silence before Yoh spoke again.

"We won't let anything happen to (Name). Besides, from what she told us he recognized her. He could be an old friend of hers."

"I think that I'd remember someone like him. But, his name does sound familiar. I'm kind of curious to know why he seems to know who I am." I said.

Wind suddenly blew through the area and Manta yelled out with a freaked out expression on his face. I could feel that the spirit wasn't happy with either of our responses.

"He didn't do anything to (Name) when you weren't around right? I'm sure that he could have if he wanted to. It should be fine to meet him."

The wind went away but I could still feel that the spirit was extremely nervous about the prospect of meeting Ren.

"By the way, what's a Shaman King?" Manta asked.

"Oh! I'd like to know that as well." Amidamaru said excitedly.

"A Shaman King…" Yoh said before he chuckled to himself.

He didn't tell us what a Shaman King was until later that night while we were walking on the sidewalk.

"A Shaman King is a person who can become one with the King of Spirits." Yoh said while we were waiting for the light to change so we could cross the road.

"There's a King of Spirits? There seems to be a king for everything…" Manta said.

"And this King of Spirits is?" Amidamaru asked.

"The spirit of all living things, that's the King of Spirits." Yoh replied

"All living things? That's too grand for me to comprehend…" Manta stated.

"Yeah, same here." Yoh said before he laughed.

"That's no good…" Manta said as he tried to understand the King of Spirits.

I felt like someone was staring at us and quickly looked across the street. The boy that I had run into was standing on the other side of the road as we waited for the light to change. He had a dangerous and confident smirk on his face as he stared at Yoh. If my assumption was right, Manta would also recognize him when he saw him and if that's the case the mysterious and yet dangerous boys name is Ren Tao.

"Ah! It's him! Ren Tao!" Manta shouted at he pointed over to him.

"Really?" Yoh and Amidamaru said excitedly.

"So that's him..." Yoh said before he grinned at him.

I felt the spirit immediately become nervous and before I could do anything the wind suddenly picked up in the area. Yoh and Manta let out a yell of surprise along with everyone else next to me.

"W-Wait!" I shouted.

I looked over at the boy as his eyes widened in surprise while he looked at me and the spirit that was next to me. The wind seemed to pick up even more but I tried to stand my ground as my feet slid back a little.

"W-What is this?!" a man shouted.

"What are you doing?!" Yoh and I shouted at the spirit.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to stay in place and my feet were lifted up into the air. I was thrown back a little ways until I crashed down onto the sidewalk with a loud thud.

"(Name)!" Manta shouted out in worry.

"Ow! That hurt!" I shouted annoyed as I quickly stood up.

After that I looked over at Yoh and shouted again as I lost my temper due to the pain in my backside.

"What in the hell is wrong with him?! I want answers! You don't just suddenly throw people! Why is it that every single time I get around Ren he decides to push me away from him?!"

He didn't have a chance to ask before the wind tried to force me back again. In the end I had to run away from the area as I was pushed all the way over to my cram school. I didn't say anything as I walked into the building and sat down in the empty classroom even though I was annoyed. There was no point in asking him my question since he couldn't answer me. The spirit was extremely on edge and decided to stay with me even during the lesson. After my lesson I had the intention of heading home until my gut feeling hit me full force again. A frown appeared on my lips and before I could stop myself I quickly headed in the direction that I was being pulled over to.

"Don't try to stop me spirit. Something tells me that I need to go there wherever it is." I said to him as I felt his nervousness skyrocket.

When I made it to my location my eyes widened in surprise.

"Funbari Cemetery?" I asked in confusion.

I decided to walk through the gate and wandered around for a little while as I waited for whatever it was that was going to show up. The feeling my gut was still there but I wasn't being pulled towards a particular location at the moment.

"Hey." I said as I walked towards Ayumi as she sat on top of her secluded headstone.

"(Name)? What are you doing here again?" she asked me in surprise as she looked over at me.

"What? I can't visit you?" I said teasingly.

After we all met Ayumi a week ago I've been coming here almost every night to at least say hello to her. For some reason I haven't been able to shake the feeling that she's still calling me to her even though I'm sure that she doesn't realize it. Sure, the gut feeling that I had the night I managed to break the seal went away but I can't help but feel another sort of pull that I couldn't describe whenever I was near her.

Before we could really get a conversation going I heard an extremely loud crash from the other part of the cemetery.

"What was that?" I asked in surprise as the spirit became nervous once again.

"I-I don't know." she said also in surprise.

"H-Hey, I have to go."

"What?"

"I'll talk to you later." I said before running off in the direction of the noise.

"Wait!" I heard her shout.

I didn't stop to turn around and continued to run towards the main part of the cemetery. There was another large crash that I heard from the same area and I tried to run a little faster as the spirit made sure to stay next to me and Ayumi followed after us. When I finally made it back to the main part of the cemetery I saw that there was a large group of people on the other end near the small gate. Since there were so many and the ghosts in the area were complaining about Ryu and his gang it was safe to assume that they were the ones that were standing over there. What I didn't expect was to see them surround someone but just as soon as they had circled around whoever it was and tried to attack them they fell to the ground defeated. My eyes widened in surprise when I saw that it was Ren and I was halfway through the cemetery when he pulled out his Kwan Dao.

"I will exterminate all parasites." he said coldly.

My eyes became wide in alarm once I saw him point the blade at Ryu.

"Die." Ren said coldly with a deadly glint in his eyes.

"No! Wait!" I shouted as I ran as fast as I could towards him in alarm to try to reach him before he killed him.

I wasn't going to let someone die in front of me! Not if I could help it!

Luckily before he could strike Yoh walked up to him and grabbed the end of his Kwan Dao to stop him. Despite how fast I was running I wouldn't have made it over to them in time to stop Ren from killing him.

"You're a dangerous guy." Yoh said as I came to a stop next to Manta behind some small bushes.

I could feel the spirits nervousness come back with a vengeance as Ayumi made it over to us.

"Don't you dare push me out of the area again. I still feel like I have something that I need to do here." I said to him firmly.

"You came?" Ren replied as he looked back at Yoh from over his shoulder.

"Ryu, can you stand back for a bit?" Yoh asked Ryu who looked shell shocked.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Ryu said before he quickly backed away from them and hid himself behind the bushes that Manta and I were standing behind.

The rest of his gang quickly followed after him and ran over to be next to him.

"What's the meaning of this?" Yoh asked.

"How much is his life worth to you?" Ren asked.

My eyes widened in surprise and I frowned at the question. What kind of question is that?

Ren continued to speak without waiting for a response.

"Even if I ask, you probably wouldn't know. That's what I'd expect from someone who calls his spirits "friends". To a Shaman, spirits are just tools whose powers you use and to call those spirits "friends" is stupid." Ren said as he turned to face him while Yoh looked at him with an unhappy expression on his face.

"A tool?" I whispered as I felt pain enter my heart again.

This boy…

The boy with purple eyes and short black hair flooded my mind.

" _They're just tools meant to be used. It's impossible to be friends with a tool."_

Who the hell was Ren? Why did he sound just like him when I first met him?!

"Bad people can't see spirits… That's why I know you aren't one. But to treat spirits as tools is something I can't forgive." Yoh said seriously.

"Bason!" Ren yelled out as he prepared to fight.

Bason, his massive warrior spirit, appeared behind him. Yoh grabbed a wooden sword that was on one of the motorcycles of Ryu's gang and spoke to Ryu.

"I'm going to borrow this, okay?"

"O-Okay!" Ryu shouted as he continued to hide behind the bush with obvious fear in his voice on the other side of Manta.

"Amidamaru!" Yoh shouted.

"Here!" Amidamaru said as he quickly appeared next to him.

"I'll show you how to use a tool." Ren said with a dangerous smirk on his face.

"I told you, they're friends!" Yoh said seriously.

"You disgust me! Bason!" Ren said with a hint of annoyance on his face.

Bason changed into a red spirit ball as he formed in Ren's right hand.

"Spirit Ball Mode!" Ren shouted as he brought Bason in front of him.

"Amidamaru! Spirit Ball Mode!" Yoh shouted as Amidamaru turned into a blue spirit ball in his right hand as he brought it out in front of him.

"Over Soul Merge!" they shouted at the same time.

Gold colored energy of some sort came from Ren's spirit ball and blue colored energy came from Yoh's as they pushed them into their chests. It slowly entered their bodies and surrounded them in a small tornado as it flowed around them until it disappeared.

"Wh-What was that?" Ryu asked taken off guard.

"A fight between shamans." Manta said seriously.

"Shamans?" Ryu asked in confusion and surprise.

I stared at Ren and Yoh with a conflicted look on my face and brought my hand to my chest.

This was a scene that I never thought I'd ever see again...

Yoh and Ren charged at each other along with Bason and Amidamaru. As they reached each other their weapons clashed and I saw sparks form due to the force of their contact. They pushed against each other for a few moments before Yoh pushed Ren back a little and then swung at him. Ren jumped up high into the air as he twirled this Kwan Dao and then yelled out as he swung at Yoh. Yoh dodged it and then swung at him again and Ren block it with the long handle of his Kwan Dao before he spun around and jabbed at Yoh with the other end of his weapon. Yoh blocked it before Ren swung at him again and Yoh ducked underneath the attack. Yoh swung at him again and Ren blocked it once again. Ren pushed back and then swung at him before Yoh dodged the attack once more. Yoh went to attack him but Ren dodged it and then swung at him and then Yoh dodged it.

"Manta, why are you all here?" I asked him softly.

Manta quickly looked at me as he realized that I was here before he spoke as he looked back at the fight that was taking place in front of us.

"Ren said that he wanted to meet Yoh at a place where you can see the stars after the spirit pushed you away from the area."

A place where you can see the stars?

Another memory of the boy with purple eyes and black hair popped into my mind as he said something that I repeated out loud as it played in my mind.

"Stars are the light that guide and show us the way. Those who can't see the light will lose their path and die..."

"Th-Those words!" Manta shouted in surprise.

I looked over at him with a fake smile on my lips and spoke.

"Have you heard them before?"

"Yeah. Those were the same words that Ren said before he cut the truck in half last night!"

"I see." I whispered.

The smile fell from my lips and I looked at Ren as he continued to fight Yoh.

I think I was finally starting to connect the dots and they were dots that were connecting in a way that I didn't like.

After that their weapons clashed again and they pushed against each other.

"This world has been defiled too much. I'm going to cleanse it! I'm the only shaman needed! So you must disappear!" Ren shouted.

"You're not acting very nice!" Yoh shouted back.

"Wh-What's going on?" one of Ryu's gang members asked.

"It's crazy, it's totally crazy!" another one said.

We all continued to watch completely entranced by the fight. Amidamaru's and Bason's skills, as well as Ren's and Yoh's, seemed like they were equal. Ren let out a yell as he rapidly jabbed at Yoh with his blade and Yoh managed to block the attacks before Yoh swung at him again several times. Ren blocked the attacks with the handle of his Kwan Dao. When Yoh raised his arms over his head to swung at him again Ren managed to get the upper hand by swinging the back end of his Kwan Dao at Yoh's blade and knocked him away and made him lose his balance. He was completely vulnerable to attack.

"Bason!" Ren shouted.

"Yes!" Bason shouted.

"Chinese Slash Dance!" Ren shouted again before he rapidly jabbed at him quicker then before.

"He can't dodge it!" Ryu shouted in alarm.

"This is nothing! If we can't dodge it, we'll just have to strike it down!" Amidamaru yelled out as Yoh regained his footing and swung down.

Yoh's wooden sword clashed into the long handle of Ren's Kwan Dao and he managed to push it over to the side. Ren's eyes widened in surprise as his attack sliced the motorcycle that was next to Yoh in half. It was obvious that he was surprised that his attack didn't work. An angry expression appeared on Ren's face as Yoh ran over to the side to put some distance between them. When Yoh stopped running he turned to face Ren before Ren stood up straight with an unhappy expression on his face.

"Playtime is over." Ren said seriously.

"Playtime?" Yoh asked.

"What do you mean?" Amidamaru asked tensely.

"Bason! 100% Spirit Fusion!" Ren shouted.

Gold light came out of Bason's eyes as he let out a yell before blue energy came up from the ground around Ren for a moment. After that Ren and Bason charged forward and Yoh and Amidamaru quickly took a defensive position.

"Useless!" Ren shouted right before he hit Yoh's sword.

A yell escaped Yoh's lips as the impact pushed Yoh back and he slammed into a headstone that was directly behind him with enough force to break it in half before he flipped in the air. He fell to the ground and then rolled across it until he came to a stop a little ways away from where Ren was standing.

"Yoh!" Manta and I shouted at the same time.

"What was that just now?" Yoh asked with obvious pain in his voice as he managed to get up onto his hands and knees.

Yoh looked up and let out an alarmed gasp as Ren stood in front of him with a confident smirk on his face.

"Have fun with your "friend" in the otherworld." Ren said.

An evil smile appeared on Ren's face as he chuckled and Yoh quickly stood up.

No! Yoh can't die! I have to do something!

I quickly looked around to see if I could come up with something to stop Ren from killing him. Luckily I managed to find a metal pole on one of the motorcycles and quickly ran over to it while everyone else was distracted by the fight.

"Chinese Slash Dance!" Ren shouted as I looked back over at them.

Ren's blade didn't touch Yoh but a strong wind came from the attack due to the force. Yoh's sword was sliced in half and his left shoulder and arm were injured before he fell back on to the ground. A horrified expression appeared on my face and I felt my blood run cold as Ren went to attack him one final time.

"No! Yoh!" I shouted and ran in between them with the metal pole in my hands.

"(Name)!" Ayumi shouted in alarm.

"You..." Ren said in surprise.

"I won't let you kill him!" I shouted as I stood in front of Yoh protectively while I held the pole tightly in my hands and took a fighting stance.

"Why does it matter? Is his life really that important? He's a fool that believes that spirits are friends."

My eyes widened in surprise and a frown appeared on my lips.

Was another life really that unimportant to him? Why does it seem like he can kill someone so easily?

The boy with purples eyes and black hair appeared in my mind again.

 _"The Tao family is a family of assassins. They're surrounded by death. It is their job to kill people. It's probably all they know. They don't believe in the kindness of this world. They don't know how to trust in others."_

Is it because he can't trust in anyone that he can put a price on someone else's life?

"...You remind me of how he was when I first met him." I said with a sad smile on my lips.

Ren's eyes widened in surprise from my response and I saw him lower his weapon a little.

"He told me about you too." I said as he looked at me speechless.

 _"Ren only knows how to use spirits as tools… He only knows how to destroy and hate everything. But he isn't a bad kid. Deep down I can see the anguish inside of him that he tries to hide from the world as he masks it with a tough exterior. He knows deep down that what he's seeing is wrong but it's the only thing that he's ever been taught."_

"Aren't you lonely?" I asked softly as I lowered my weapon.

His eyes widened a little more as he lowered his weapon a little more.

"Isn't it lonely to spend your life hating the whole world and destroying everything? I know that you're not a bad person."

"Get out of my way." Len said with a frown as he raised his weapon again.

I could see the doubt deep in his eyes as he looked at me.

 _"The Tao family believes that members of their family should not doubt, if they doubt they become weak. I think that's why Ren has a hard exterior. Deep down, he doubts the teachings of the Tao family…"_

"I can't. If I did then you'd kill him." I said firmly.

"How much is that fools life worth to you?" he asked me again.

"Every life is precious. You can't put a price on someone's life. If you kill him you won't be able to go back. His blood will forever be on your hands. Don't do something that you're going to regret later."

A dangerous look appeared in his eyes as his grip tightened around his weapon.

"Who says that I'll regret it? In this world it's conquer or be conquered. Destroy or be destroyed." he asked me challengingly.

"Is this really how you want to spend the rest of your life? Do you really want to spend the rest of your life hating the world and destroying everything? Do you really want to kill someone without thinking about the consequences? You will regret it."

"Shut up!" he shouted at me angrily.

"You doubt what you've been taught." I said.

His eyes widened again before he spoke with a deadly look on his face.

"Do you want me to kill you too?"

I felt the spirit immediately become even more nervous then before and I shouted at him.

"Don't get involved spirit! This is between me and him!"

Ren looked at me in confusion and spoke.

"Spirit? You don't know who he is?"

"No. I can't see him. I can see every spirit but him... Why?" I asked hesitantly.

He opened his mouth to say something before he looked over at the spirit in surprise. After that he looked at me with an indescribable look on his face.

"...Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked him with a frown.

He didn't say anything for a few moments before he spoke again.

"Get out of my way."

"No."

"Do you really think that you stand a chance against me when you're not even merged with a tool?" Ren asked with a smirk.

"Spirits aren't tools. They're just like you and me. The only difference is the fact that they aren't alive anymore. If you believe that you can use them as tools then you believe that you can use someone like me as a tool as well. Isn't it lonely not to be able to trust in others or believe in the kindness of this world?"

His eyes widened again as a dark expression appeared on his face.

"I don't care who you are. If you don't move I'll attack you."

"Ayumi! Merge with me!" I shouted as I raised my pole again and gripped it tightly with both of my hands.

There's no other choice but to do something to stop him.

Ren and everyone else looked at me in surprise from my demand.

"What?!" Ayumi shouted in shock.

"If I don't fight Yoh will die! I can't let him die! It's the only chance we have to protect him!" I shouted desperately.

"(N-Name)..." Yoh said weakly behind me.

"You think that you can fight me by merging with a spirit when you aren't even a shaman?" Ren asked before he laughed.

"Ayumi!" I shouted as I looked over at Ayumi in desperation.

"You underestimate me. If you want to fight me so badly then I'll do as you want." he said with a smirk as he prepared his attack.

"(Name)!" I heard Ayumi and Manta shout in alarm.

"Chinese Slash Dance!" Ren shouted before he launched his attack at me.

My eyes widened in horror as I looked at Ren and an image of my dearest friend with purple eyes and short black hair flashed through my mind and guilt filled my heart. I suddenly felt a strange sensation in my body before the attack hit me as wind also engulfed the area and I lost consciousness while thinking about how I let what he did go in vain because of my recklessness.


	7. Chapter 7: Lan Ling Wang

**Chapter 7: Lan Ling Wang**

 _A 16 year old boy with purple eyes and short black hair and an 11 year old version of me were sitting on the edge of a cliff in the woods as we watched the sunset and talked. It was something that he and I would often do to be alone._

 _"(Name), can you promise me something?" he asked._

 _"What?" I asked in curiosity._

 _"If you ever meet Ren and his sister Jun I want you to try to become friends with them."_

 _"Why?" I asked in confusion._

 _I didn't mind the idea even after everything that he'd told me but I didn't understand why he wanted me to be friends with them._

 _"If it's possible I want you to show them the kindness of this world like you did for me and save them from the shackles of their legacy. I know that it'll be difficult and maybe it's asking too much of you but I feel like if anyone can change their hearts it's you."_

 _After that he looked over at me with a gentle expression on his face and spoke again._

 _"Can you promise me that if you meet them you'll become their friend and stand by their side no matter what?"_

 _I looked at him in surprise from the request and yet I also felt extremely flattered that he held me in such high regard. These people were precious to him and the fact that he had opened up to me like he had made me happy._

 _"Okay! I promise!" I said with a grin as I put my pinky finger out._

 _"Thank you." he said with a small smile on his lips as he locked his pinky with mine._

I slowly opened my eyes and noticed that I was on the cold, hard, ground as I stared up at the dark sky above me with pain in my heart.

I haven't dreamed about him in a long time...

As I forced the dream to the back of my mind I looked around and saw that I was still in the cemetery but now everything was completely silent. Not even the usual spirits that were around were talking. The worry I felt from the spirit hit me like a ton of bricks as he rushed over to me and wind blew through the area for a moment. I groaned as I slowly sat up and realized that my body felt extremely sore. I examined myself and saw that I had a few scratches on my legs and arms from some sort of blade.

When I looked around again I noticed that everyone else had already left the area, everyone except Ren that is. He was lying on his stomach a little ways in front of me and I could tell that he was struggling to get up onto his hands and knees.

"What happened?" I asked myself with exhaustion and confusion in my voice.

"(Name) get out of here!" Ayumi shouted as she appeared next to me on the right.

"Y-You…" Ren said angrily as he glared at me.

My eyes widened in surprise due to the coldness in his eyes and the condition of his body. He had bruises and cuts all over and looked like he was about to collapse at any moment. I couldn't say anything as he slowly managed to get up onto his hands and knees. He grabbed his Kwan Dao that was lying on the ground next to him and used it to slowly get back onto his feet.

How in the hell was he able to stand?! He looked like hell!

"H-Hey shouldn't you rest? You look like you're going to collapse at any moment." I asked him with a concerned expression on my face.

"Is now really the time to be worrying about him?! You need to get out of here!" Ayumi shouted tensely as she stood in front of me protectively.

Confusion appeared in his eyes for only a moment as he panted and stared at me before he glared at me again. He took a step forward as he gripped his weapon tightly in his hands and prepared his next attack. The spirits nervousness reached an all new high and Ren looked over at him along with Ayumi as he said something.

"I don't care who she is. I won't be defeated! I refuse to lose to someone who thinks of tools as friends!" Ren shouted stubbornly.

I slowly managed to get back up onto my feet and panted in exhaustion as he and I looked at each other. I'd have a better chance of doing something if I wasn't on the ground. If I could I'd take Ayumi's suggestion but my body was in bad shape. I was lucky to even be able to stand. Running was definitely not an option.

Ren took several more steps forward but before he could actually carry out any sort of attack his knees gave out from underneath him and he fell to the ground with a loud thud as he fell unconscious. I felt a little relieved from the turn of events. If he would have tried to attack me I'm not really sure what I would have done.

Once I was able to collect my thoughts a little more I realized that I had no idea what was going on. What happened? Why did I fall unconscious? How was I still alive? Where are the others? Are they all right?

The area was filled with silence again until I sighed and fell to my knees in exhaustion.

"(Name)!" Ayumi said in concern as she turned around to look at me.

"I'm fine. I'm a little tired that's all. I just need to rest here for a little bit."

Bason appeared next to Ren's body and looked at him with concern.

"Young Master!" he shouted.

"You... You... You idiot!" Ayumi shouted at me.

Bason and I jumped a little in surprise due to her outburst.

"W-What?" I asked surprised and a little offended.

"What the hell were you thinking jumping between them like that?! You could have been killed!"

"What else was I supposed to do? He would have killed Yoh if I wouldn't have jumped in!" I shouted back at her.

"What you did was reckless! It's no wonder why you always have him around to protect you!" she shouted as she pointed at the spirit next to me.

I could tell that the spirit was also annoyed at me and I spoke up again.

"I don't need protected." I said firmly.

"Then what do you call that?!" Ayumi shouted as I felt the spirits anger rise.

"I don't need protected. I simply did what I needed to do. I wasn't about to let someone die in front of me. I had to do something, anything, to stop it! I'll be damned if I was going to let him die when I could try to do something about it." I said stubbornly.

"You were almost stabbed by that boy's Kwan Dao how can you say that you don't need to be protected?!"

"Just because. Now drop it." I said annoyed.

"You're acting completely unreasonable right now! You almost ended up getting yourself killed! What good would it have done if both of you died?! The only reason why you're still breathing is because he and I saved you! Next time you might not be so lucky!"

I was silent as I stared at her and I tried to respond but in the end my shoulders slumped. She was right about that. Before I fell unconscious even I thought that I was a goner. If they wouldn't have saved me I would be dead or, at the very least, severely hurt.

"I... I had to protect him." I said softly.

She noticed my change of attitude and her tone changed a little.

"You could have been killed." she said again.

"...I know." I said with guilt in my voice as I thought of the boy with purple eyes again.

I moved over to a nearby headstone and leaned my back against it in order to rest. We were silent for a little while as I slowly recovered from whatever had just taken place and I felt that the spirit was still extremely nervous and a little annoyed but his anger was slowly ebbing away. Bason watched over Ren with a worried expression on his face and occasionally looked at me wearily. It was easy to tell that he was worried that I was going to do something to the sleeping boy. I looked over at Ren for a few moments before I spoke to Bason.

"Hey, Bason, you can relax. I'm not going to do anything to him."

He looked over at me wearily again since he knew that Ren was powerless to do anything if I did decide to do something to him. After he tried to kill me or, at the very least, hurt me it would be a completely normal response to try to get even with him but I wasn't going to do anything to him. I had a promise to keep, a promise that I thought that I had forgotten from a long time ago.

"Despite what you're thinking right now, I'm not going to come over there and hurt him. First of all it wouldn't do me any good he'd really come after me if I did something to him while he was unconscious, secondly I'm too tired, thirdly I don't really want to even if I could, and fourth of all I believe the exact same thing that Yoh thinks."

"What are you talking about?" Ayumi asked me as she and Bason looked at me in confusion.

"I don't believe that he's a bad person."

She looked at me in disbelief and shouted at me.

"What?! He tried to kill you!"

"When he's only been taught how to destroy how can he know anything different?" I asked softly.

"Did Master Lan really tell you about him?" Bason asked in surprise as he spoke up.

"...Yes." I said after a moment with a neutral expression on my face.

"Lan?" Ayumi asked me in confusion.

"...A boy that I knew when I was a child. He was my closest friend. He's the one who told me about the Tao family. Ren, his sister Jun, their parents Ran and En, and their grandfather Ching... He told me everything. His full name was Lan Ling Wang." I said as I looked up at the sky.

This was the first time that I've spoken his name in 5 years and I felt a familiar pain in my heart. I could see his purple eyes and black hair clearly as he smiled his familiar gentle smile towards me like he had in my dream... It was a dream that was a memory from my childhood.

"But who was he? How was he involved with that dangerous kid and his spirit?" Ayumi asked.

"He was Ren's sisters fiancé. That is our connecting link. I didn't understand why he recognized me at first but now that I know that he knew Ling it makes sense. He did say that he told Ren about me."

"He did often speak fondly of a girl that he knew back here in Japan." Bason said.

"I see." I said with a fake smile on my lips.

"Are you all right (Name)?" Ayumi asked me in concern.

"Yes. Why wouldn't I be?" I said as I looked at her.

"You're not acting like yourself."

"I'm fine."

"But you seem like you're in pain." she said worriedly.

"I said that I'm fine." I snapped at her.

She looked at me with worry on her face but she didn't say anything else. I felt a little bad about snapping at her but Lan, or Ling as I called him, was someone that I didn't want to talk about. I was over it. I had moved on.

The silence was almost deafening and I decided to break it to ask Ayumi a question while I tried to stop my thoughts from going back to him.

"Ayumi, what exactly happened before?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" she asked me carefully.

"I thought that I was a goner but before Ren stabbed me with his Kwan Dao I fell unconscious."

"I took over your body in order to save you while the spirit protected you with the wind that he can produce. We both prevented him from hurting you."

"You took over my body? Is that why I fell unconscious and I don't know what happened?"

"Yes. Since you're not a shaman and don't have proper training, I can't merge with you like I can with someone like Ren or Yoh. I had to completely take control of your body in order to rescue you."

"After you took over what happened exactly? I feel like crap and Ren doesn't look too good either."

"I fought him using your body."

"But how did you manage to defeat him? We weren't merged."

"I'm not completely useless. I do know how to fight. Luckily for you I know how to use many different weapons other then just the Sai's that I have hanging from my belt so it was easy for me to adjust."

"That's surprising. I wouldn't have thought that a priestess would know how to fight so well."

"I had to learn out of necessity."

"What happened to Yoh and the others?"

"After I took over your body they drove their motorcycles over to Ren in order to get in his way before they helped out Yoh. They wanted to take you as well but I knew that there was a chance that Ren would be able to follow them so I told them that you would be staying behind to hold him off. He was pretty difficult to defeat though. He's really resilient."

"From what I've heard he's had to deal with unusually harsh training to become Shaman King. It would stand to reason that he could handle more then your average boy."

Bason simply nodded his head in response as he confirmed what I had been told.

"But to be so strong for his age... Didn't he have much of a childhood?"

"No. It sounded like he was never able to have a real childhood."

"He wasn't." Bason said sadly.

When I felt like I had enough strength I stood up and slowly walked over to Ren.

"What are you doing?" Ayumi and Bason asked at the same time as I crouched down next to him.

"I'm not about to leave him here to fend for himself while he's unconscious." I said as I rolled him onto his back.

I silently looked at his face with a little bit of wonder. It was amazing how peaceful he looked. The expression on his face was a lot different. When he was asleep he looked like any other normal 13 year old boy.

"What are you planning on doing?" Ayumi asked me wearily.

"The only thing that I can do is attempt to take him home, right?" I asked her with a smile.

Bason looked at me in surprise and Ayumi looked at me with an incredulous look on her face. I could tell that the spirit felt nervous about the situation.

"How are you going to do that?" she asked.

"Carry him of course."

"You can't do that! Your body has already been pretty beaten up! In fact, it's a miracle that you're even conscious! It's not easy on someone's body to be possessed!"

"What else do you suggest I do? I'm not going to leave him here alone. He may have attacked me and Yoh but he's still a 13 year old boy." I said stubbornly.

"What if he wakes up while you're carrying him there?!"

"Then I'll have to deal with it if that happens. Right now I'm not going to worry about it. I'm too tired. My only concern at the moment is getting him home."

She opened her mouth to say something but before she could we heard rumbling sounds from what sounded like a group of vehicles nearby. I looked over at Ayumi in confusion and a little worry as the sound came closer but when I looked back over at the gate of the cemetery bright light suddenly shined into my eyes and I lifted my arms up to shield them as it blinded me. The sound of tires squealing rang through the air before I heard a familiar voice.

"She's still alive!" Ryu shouted.

The light turned off and I lowered my arms so I could see again. Ryu and his gang were on their motorcycles as they looked at me with amazed or relieved expressions on their faces. A tired smile came to my lips as I waved at them. They looked down at Ren and their faces turned to shock as they noticed that he was unconscious.

This makes things a little easier. Now I might not have to carry him if I can convince them to give us a ride.

"Bason, I want you to give me directions to Ren's place while Ren and I are on the back of their bikes." I whispered as I stood back up.

Bason looked at me in surprise before a grateful expression appeared on his face.

"Yes!"

"Hey, I know this is a lot to ask but can you guys give us a lift?" I asked the group.

"Us?" the blue haired guy asked me in confusion as he and the others climbed off their motorcycles.

"Yes. Both me and him." I said as I pointed at myself and then Ren.

"You're joking! Why would we give him a ride?!" Ryu shouted at me with a freaked out expression on his face.

"Please?" I asked as I bowed to them.

Ryu became silent for a few moments before he spoke with embarrassment in his voice.

"F-Fine, you don't have to bow."

I looked up at him gratefully as I smiled and stood up straight.

"Thank you. Thank you so much!"

A blush appeared on his cheeks and the others in the gang grinned at him when they saw how flustered Ryu was by my gratitude.

"A-All right boys, let's give these two a ride! We can't keep a lady waiting!" Ryu shouted.

"So... Who's going to get the boy?" the bald guy asked nervously.

They looked at each other with worried expressions on their faces and then back over to me and Ren. It was obvious that none of them wanted anything to do with him and understandably so. He almost killed Ryu and beat them up in one fell swoop. If I was in their position, or in my right mind, I wouldn't do it either but that wasn't the case on either account.

"Why don't you give them a push?" Ayumi asked.

I silently looked over at her in confusion since I didn't want them to think that I was crazy by talking to myself and she took the hint and decided to elaborate.

"Tell them that if one of them is brave enough to carry Ren on their motorcycle you'll give them a kiss on the cheek."

A dark blush appeared on my cheeks and I shouted at her.

"W-What?!"

I felt the spirit suddenly move next to me as his warm presence wrapped around me like he was hugging me and she looked at him in surprise as he said something. At the same time Ryu's gang jumped in surprise from my outburst and looked over at me with wide eyes. A nervous laugh escaped my lips as I rubbed the back of my head. I'm sure they all think that I'm absolutely crazy at this point...

"S-Sorry." I said apologetically.

"Come on (Name), it's the only way that I think any of them will even consider taking him home on their bikes." Ayumi said as she tried to convince me.

The spirit felt like he was annoyed and must have said something to her again because she looked over at him and placed her hands on her hips.

"What do you suggest we do then?" she asked him.

I thought about her suggestion before I sighed. She was more then likely right... They wouldn't place him on their motorcycles unless they were extremely motivated to do so. If it was only a kiss on the cheek I guess I could do it...

After that thought a blush appeared on my cheeks again as I spoke to Ryu and his gang.

"I-If one of you guys take him on your motorcycle I-I'll..."

"You'll what?" the blue haired guy asked expectantly.

I looked at them and took a deep breath before I shouted out my suggestion at the top of my lungs due to my embarrassment.

"I'll k-k-kiss you on the cheek!"

The group was silent for a few moments before they shouted at me with shock as blushes also appeared on their cheeks.

"What?!"

"P-Please, can one of you just take him? I'll hold his weapon so he doesn't do anything to you with it!" I pleaded.

"I will!" they all shouted at the same time.

I looked at them in surprise and embarrassment as they all started to argue with each other over who was going to take Ren.

"Great… Now we have a different problem." I muttered under my breath.

Ayumi just looked at me with an amused expression on her face as I picked up Ren's weapon and took it apart so it would be easier to carry. Bason looked at me like I was some sort of hero. The spirit felt like he wasn't happy about the turn of events.

"I'm the leader and what I say goes. I'll take the boy!" Ryu shouted.

The others wanted to say something in response but they weren't able to argue with him on that point. After that the guy with the brown knit hat spoke up with a smirk on his face.

"Fine then, you can take him but one of us gets to take the girl instead!"

Ryu paused as he blinked at him like he had just realized that he was right before the other guys argued about who would take me. If I didn't suggest something they could be here all night...

"You guys." I said shyly.

"What?" the guy with white hair asked.

"You guys could play rock-paper-scissors and I'll ride on the back of the winners' motorcycle." I suggested.

"Oh!" they shouted as the thought occurred to them.

After that they started a long and intense gave of rock-paper-scissors before the victor was finally decided.

"Yes! I win!" the blue haired guy shouted.

The others' shoulders slumped in defeat as he continued to grin victoriously and I decided to speak up with a sweat drop at the back of my head.

"If there's a next time I'll give one of you guys the chance to ride your motorcycles with me." I said to the guys who lost.

"Really?!" they shouted as they stood in front of me expectantly.

"Y-Yes."

"Yes!" they shouted excitedly.

Ryu gathered up Ren and I climbed behind the blue haired guy and wrapped my arms around him. He had a ridiculous grin on his face as we left the cemetery with Ayumi, the spirit, and Bason next to us.

The blue haired guy and I were at the front of the group instead of Ryu since I was the one telling them how to get to Ren's place and it didn't take us very long to get there once we were moving.

"It's that building over there!" Bason said.

I looked at it and realized that it was the same building where I had met Ren.

"It's that building over there!" I shouted as I pointed at it.

The blue haired guy nodded his head before he turned into the parking lot and after a few more moments we stopped in front of the doors to the building.

"Wow... That's so much faster then walking." I said in amazement.

It only took us around 10 minutes to get there when it would have taken me probably an hour due to the condition I was in.

"Why are we here?" Ryu asked in surprise as the others also looked at the building.

"This is the place where Ren is staying at while he's here in Japan."

"W-What?!" Ryu and his gang shouted.

"Why are you guys so shocked?" I asked in confusion as I climbed off the motorcycle.

"This place is really pricey." the bald guy said.

"Oh..." I said with a nod of understanding.

After that I walked over to Ryu's motorcycle and spoke again.

"Thank you guys for driving us here. I'll take Ren up to his room. You guys don't have to wait for me. I'll just walk home from here." I said to everyone gratefully.

"Are you sure?" the guy with the knit hat asked me.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Thanks again."

I looked at Ryu before I quickly kissed his cheek as I promised I would. My cheeks turned red due to my embarrassment and Ryu's did the same before he cleared his throat and looked over to the side. He climbed off of his motorcycle and helped me get Ren onto my back so I could carry him but when I tried to walk forward I struggled a bit.

"H-Hey, do you want me to carry him?" Ryu asked me with concern.

"I-I'll be fine. Thanks for the offer but I doubt that Ren here would want all of you inside of his hotel room. He wouldn't even want me there if he was conscious. By the way, thank you for helping Yoh as well. You really are good people." I said with a gentle smile.

Their faces turned red due to embarrassment before I turned my back to them and slowly made my way up the stairs that were in front of the building and finally made it inside of the hotel after the electronic doors opened. I noticed that the front desk didn't have anyone behind it and that the main floor was completely empty before I looked over at the clock and noticed that it was already 11 at night. A sigh of annoyance came from my lips since I knew that I still had homework to do before I could even think about going to sleep.

Bason led me, Ayumi, and the spirit to the elevator that was on the other side of the building and I managed to push the button with my elbow. Today was my lucky day and the elevator was already on the main floor and I quickly walked inside.

"What floor is he on?" I asked Bason after the elevator doors closed.

"He's living on the top floor."

"W-What?!" I shouted in disbelief.

The top floor of a hotel is always the most expensive and to top it all off Ryu and the others claimed that this was a really expensive place! How much money did the Tao family really have?! Ren's been here for at least two weeks already!

I hesitated a little before I pushed the elevator button for the top floor with my shoulder since it was too high to use my elbow. As the elevator began to ascend I spoke up again.

"You know Bason, you don't seem like you're a bad guy either."

Ayumi looked at me in wonder and confusion.

"What?" he asked me in surprise.

"You really care for Ren don't you?"

"Of course I care for Master Ren."

"Do you see yourself as Ren's friend?"

"H-His friend?" he asked.

"Yes. His friend." I said with a nod.

He was silent for a few moments before he finally spoke.

"I've only seen myself as a tool for Master Ren's use."

"Do you want to be his friend?" I asked him in curiosity.

"I... I'm only a tool. How can someone be friends with a tool?"

I shook my head and spoke softly.

"You're wrong. You're not just a tool. You're an ally, someone who cares for him and stands by him through thick and thin. In other words, you're a friend even if you both, for one reason or another, don't see it. That's what friends do for each other after all." I said before I smiled at him.

He looked at me without saying anything in response like he was deep in thought over my words. The elevator dinged and I looked up to see that we had finally made it up to the top floor of the building.

"Lead the way." I said as the doors opened.

Bason floated in front of us and led us down the hallway to the only door on the far right side of the building that was along the right wall. I stared at it for a moment with a look of dread on my face as I realized that the door was probably locked and that I would have to put him down onto the floor just so I could grab his key from one of his pockets.

"Bason?" I asked.

"Yes?"

"He doesn't happen to leave the door unlocked does he?"

"No. He makes sure that it's locked when he leaves."

"That's what I thought." I said with a sigh.

I took a step over to the side and turned my back to the wall that was next to the door and placed his back against it before I slowly lowered Ren down onto the floor. After I set him down I stood up and turned around and then crouched down in front of him to search his pockets to find the key. When I found it in his jacket pocket I quickly took it out and unlocked the door to his hotel room and opened it. The light from the hallway shed a little light into the room but I could only see that the door led into another hallway. I searched the wall for a light switch and turned it on before I looked around the room.

Inside of the room was a long hallway which was at least half of the width of the building that had several doorways that led to various rooms in the hotel "room".

"This isn't a room, this is a house." I whispered to myself in shock.

"If you don't hurry Ren might wake up. It's been a while since he fell unconscious." Ayumi said from behind me.

"Right." I said as I nodded my head and looked back at her.

"Bason where is his room?" I asked as I placed his weapon down onto the small table near the door.

"His room is the third room down."

I nodded my head and quickly walked down the hallway and searched for the light switch before I turned it on. The opposite wall was made completely out of windows and I saw a massive bed on the other side of the room. I walked over to his bed and moved the covers down before I quickly headed back over to the door of the hotel room and stepped out into the hallway where Ren was. I crouched down with my back to him and put his arms around my shoulders before I grabbed his legs and lifted him up so he was flush against my back again. It was a little harder without Ryu's help but I managed to get back up onto my feet and walked through the door once again and headed over to his room.

"Of course it would have to be the room that was the furthest away." I muttered under my breath as I slowly walked forward.

It felt like he was a little heavier then he had been before. By the time I reached his bedroom I felt like I was about to collapse and made my way over to his bed as fast as I could, although that wasn't very fast since I was struggling to stay on my feet. Once I made it to his bed I turned my back to it and sat him down onto the bed before I grabbed his left arm to stop him from falling forward or back as I turned around to face him and then gently laid him down onto his back.

"I'm so tired." I muttered under my breath as I crouched down to the floor and removed his shoes.

"What are you doing?" Ayumi asked me.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm putting him in bed."

"Do you really have time to do that?! What if he really wakes up?!" she shouted at me.

"It'll be fine." I said as I took off his jacket and tie.

"What if you end up collapsing in his room?!" she shouted as I threw the items onto the floor.

"I'm not going to collapse." I said stubbornly as I moved the covers a little further down.

I grabbed his legs and placed them onto the bed and I shifted Ren's body until he was finally lying down with his head on the pillow.

"You're really unbelievable you know that?" she asked me in disbelief.

"What?" I asked as I placed the covers over his body.

"Even after all he's put you through tonight you're still acting like he's a normal boy that didn't just try to kill you."

I didn't respond and sat down at the side of his bed to stare at him. My left hand made its way up to his bangs and I gently brushed my fingers through them. Now that I could see his face in the light I realized how much he did look like a child when he was asleep. You wouldn't know by looking at him that he grew up to hate everything and didn't trust anyone.

"(Name)?" Ayumi asked me.

"Hm?" I asked.

"What are you doing?"

I looked over at her for a moment before I looked back over at Ren and realized what I was doing. A blush appeared on my cheeks and I removed my hand as I laughed nervously.

"Ah! Sorry, I guess I sort of just spaced out."

"Seriously. Are you really not worried about him?" she asked.

"He's not a bad person." I said.

"How do you know that?!" she shouted at me.

"Bason can I ask you something?" I asked as I ignored her.

"What is it?" he asked me with curiosity.

"The way he acts around others... It's just a façade isn't it?"

"What do you mean?" Ayumi asked.

Bason was silent as he looked at me.

"Deep, underneath it all he's in pain isn't he? He doubts what his family is doing. He doubts what they have taught him."

"(Name)?" Ayumi said in confusion.

"Ling told me that Ren was really a kind person but in order to mask his pain he created this tough exterior."

"What do you think?" Bason asked me after a few moments.

"I'm going to trust what Ling has told me about him and Jun. I feel like they are good people." I said as I looked back over at him.

He looked at me in surprise before an almost invisible smile appeared on his lips. I looked back over at Ren's sleeping form and stared at him for a few moments before I spoke up again.

"I know that this might seem off the wall but I made a promise to Ling about something the day he told me about the Tao family."

"What did you promise him?" Ayumi asked in curiosity.

"I promised him that if I ever met them that I would try to become friends with Ren and Jun."

"What?" she asked me in surprise.

"It was something that he said that he wanted me to do and despite everything that he told me I decided to promise him that I would. He wanted me to somehow change their hearts by showing them the kindness of this world and saving them from the shackles of their legacy. I said that I'd stand by their side no matter what."

"M-Master Lan asked that of you?" Bason asked as he and Ayumi looked at me in shock and I looked over at them.

"Ling is counting on me to help them. I don't know why but he thought I could do it. It's something that he wanted me to do... I want to help them. They deserve more then to believe that the world is only filled with death and hatred. I don't plan on breaking the promise I made now that Ren is here. They were both important to him." I said with a determined look on my face.

I looked over at Ren and touched his bangs one last time. This would be the last time that I would see his face look this peaceful. Now I was probably going to be a target of his along with Yoh.

"Good night and sweet dreams Ren." I said softly with a small smile on my lips.

I stood up and slowly walked away from him. As I made it to the doorway of his room I looked over my shoulder at him one final time before I turned off the light and walked down the hallway with the spirit, Ayumi, and Bason behind me. When I finally made it to the door I opened it before I turned off the light in the hallway and locked the door as I placed Ren's key next to his weapon.

"I guess I'll see you around Bason." I said as I turned around to look at him after I stepped out of the hotel room.

"Thank you." Bason said as he bowed to me in gratitude.

"No problem." I said with a grin on my face.

"All right, let's get you home." Ayumi said.

I nodded my head before I spoke as I waved at Bason.

"Bye Bason."

I shut the door of the hotel room and then walked down the hallway towards the elevator. I didn't say anything to Ayumi or the spirit the entire time I walked home. I had a wide range of emotions that were flowing through me and I felt like the spirit was in the same boat.

Ling... He was someone that I tried not to talk or think about as much as I possibly could but tonight I couldn't stop him from coming into my mind. He was the connecting link that I had with Ren and I didn't like it. I was being forced to think about the one thing that I tried not to think about. After all these years I damn well succeeded in not thinking about him at all but ever since I met Yoh things keep happening that keep forcing him into my mind. I was being forced to face the pain and guilt that I felt all over again.

In the end though, I know that I'll be okay. It's just like any other day. I'm over it... I'm over it!


	8. Chapter 8: Yoh's and Ren's Second Fight

**A/N:**

Sorry for the late update you guys! Life's been really hectic lately. I hope that you like the next chapter of the story!

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Yoh's and Ren's Second Fight**

I was lucky enough that my parents were already asleep when I made it home after my encounter with Ren and I didn't have to answer any questions about my cuts and bruises. Ayumi decided to go back to the cemetery while the spirit stayed with me like he always does. I worked on the homework that I had to do and when I could I crashed down onto the bed and fell asleep.

When I woke up the next morning I was extremely sore and I could tell that the spirit was a little worried about me as I slowly sat up from the bed.

"I'll be fine. My worry is the fact that I have all these cuts and bruises. I'm going to have to figure out how to cover them up before I head downstairs for breakfast." I said to him softly.

I put on some makeup to cover up the bruises on my face and then decided to wear some blue jeans and a long sleeved shirt once I realized that it was the weekend. It would look a little odd since it was the hottest time of the year but it was the only thing that I could come up with.

Once I made it downstairs for breakfast I sat down at the table with my parents and my mother spoke.

"Where were you last night?"

"I was with some friends from school and lost track of the time."

It wasn't like it was a lie. I was with friends from school... and Ryu's gang and a boy that tried to kill me. Obviously they don't need to know that last part.

"When did you get home?"

"Around midnight."

She nodded her head but didn't comment on how late I was. Lucky for me they seemed to be satisfied by my answers and they didn't ask me about my choice of clothing.

During the weekend my thoughts wandered to Yoh and Ren. I didn't know how Yoh faired off after his fight with Ren and I couldn't visit him since it never occurred to me to ask Ryu where he took him. It worried me. Then there was Ren who was an entirely different problem. I made that promise but I wasn't sure how to go about fulfilling it. We didn't really start off on the right foot. The first time we met he pulled his weapon out on me and this last time he actually attacked me and I had to have Ayumi's help to beat him up. It didn't take a genius to know that he wouldn't like the fact that he had been defeated. I'm sure that I was on his hit list along with Yoh. How can I become friends with someone who wants to kill me?

At times like this I was thankful that the spirit was around me. He helped calm my swirling emotions whenever I would think about Ren. The memories I have of Ling seemed to try to haunt me whenever I would think about him and it was hard to suppress them due to their connection. I had carefully locked them up inside of the deepest recesses of my mind and I intended to keep it that way. I had to keep it that way.

When the weekend was over I wore the winter version of my uniform. My top was a long sleeved white buttoned up shirt and I also made sure to wear long white below the knee socks. I didn't give my parents the chance to really get a good glimpse at what I was wearing as I headed out the door for school. They had their own stuff to deal with anyway.

As I headed to school I received a few stares since I was wearing a long sleeved shirt during one of the hottest times of the year but no one said anything to me. Just as I was about to walk through the front gate of the school I heard Manta call out to me.

"(Name)!"

I stopped walking and turned to the side and saw him running over to me.

"Hey Manta, what's up?" I asked.

"You're okay!" he said in relief.

A small smile appeared on my lips and I nodded my head.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just have a few cuts and bruises but I managed to make it out okay thanks to the spirit and Ayumi. How's Yoh?"

"He's resting in the hospital right now. I'm planning to visit him after cram school. Do you want to come with me? If he's awake I'm sure that he'd be happy to see that you're okay."

"Sure. I want to see how he's doing. Which cram school do you go to? I'll just meet you over there."

He told me where it was and then we headed to our separate buildings. The rest of the day went like it normally did with the exception of Yoh not being around. We ate lunch together, after school we walked around town, we ate dinner together, and then we parted ways for cram school. I quickly packed all of my things as cram school ended and walked out of the building. The spirits presence greeted me the moment I walked out the door and then I ran over to Manta's cram school. When we were on the other side of the street I looked around and saw that Manta was standing in front of the building while reading his book.

"Manta!" I shouted as I waved at him and crossed the street.

He looked up from his book and closed it just as I made it over to him.

"Are you ready?" I asked him.

"Yeah." he said with a nod.

Manta led me to a small hospital that was near Funbari Cemetery that I didn't even know existed. To be honest, it really didn't look like a hospital from the outside. It looked just like a regular small office building of some sort. The spirit came inside of the building with us as we walked through the electronic doors and Manta talked to the receptionist. She allowed us to head over to Yoh's room and we saw that he was awake. He was sitting up in the bed and I saw a bandage that was wrapped around his stomach and left shoulder.

"Yo!" Yoh said completely relaxed as he lifted his right hand in greeting.

"Yoh! Thank goodness." Manta said in relief as we walked over to Yoh's bed and he sat down in the chair next to it.

"I don't recall much but I heard Ryu saved me?" Yoh asked.

"Yeah." Manta said with a smile as he nodded his head.

"From what Ayumi told me Ryu and his gang came to your aid as quickly as they could." I said.

"Maybe he's a good person." Manta said with a smile.

"He is." I said with a nod.

"Next time I see him, I should thank him." Yoh said.

"(Name), Ayumi, and the spirit also helped you out." Manta said.

"Really?" Yoh asked in surprise.

"(Name) ran between you and Ren before he could strike you again and then the spirit and Ayumi came to her aid to stop him from doing anything to her."

"Ayumi? What did she do?" Yoh asked in confusion.

"She merged with (Name) before she started to fight Ren."

"She merged with you?" Yoh asked in surprise as he looked at me.

"Not exactly, it was more like she possessed my body and I lost consciousness until the fight was over and Ren was defeated." I said.

"Are you feeling all right?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I have a few cuts and bruises and I'm a little sore from her using my body to fight him but other then that I'm perfectly fine."

"Thanks for the help. If you wouldn't have run between us he would have attacked me again." Yoh said with a relaxed smile on his face.

"No problem. Really it was Ayumi and the spirit that saved you. I don't know anything about fighting." I said a little embarrassed by his gratitude.

"The doctor said your wound isn't anything serious." Manta said happily.

Yoh nodded his head as he spoke.

"Yeah. Amidamaru barely dodged it for me." he said before he looked over to the other side of the bed.

Amidamaru appeared next to him with a depressed expression on his face.

"Please stop. It turned out like this because of my lack of skill." Amidamaru said gloomily.

"Don't be gloomy because it didn't turn out the way you hoped it would. It ended without much harm done because you were there. Otherwise I would've had my arm cut off."

"Lord Yoh..."

"Don't worry about it." Yoh said as he smiled at him reassuringly.

"I'm so ashamed of myself." Amidamaru said as he closed his eyes and bowed his head in shame.

"Anyway, why did he attack you?" Manta asked as he looked over at Yoh.

Yoh spoke as he lied back down onto the bed.

"He was saying why, wasn't he? Because he's going to be the King of Shamans, no other shamans are necessary."

"Even so, going after your life like that... Such actions are accepted among shamans?" Manta said in thought as he looked down to the floor with his hand on his chin.

He looked back over at Yoh as he continued to speak.

"Besides, just what is a Shaman King?"

"Well, I don't know clearly myself. When I was a kid, I heard about it once from my grandfather... Was it roughly ten years ago? It was another day of successful shaman training with my grandfather. I couldn't even summon an earth spirit back then. At the time I didn't want to be a shaman and I didn't like to train. I had my own vision. I wanted to listen to my favorite music every day and live an easygoing life. But later that night he told me about the Shaman King. People are starting to forget about the spirits that dwell in the lands. When a population grows, the establishment of a village is only natural but no matter how much civilizations develop it's impossible for humans to understand everything about the world. No one knows how the deeds of human beings will affect the earth. That's why humans need a clear path to walk. That clear path is the mighty, most powerful, and ultimate spirit, commonly known as God, or as shamans call it, the great King of Spirits. There are only a few who have actually met it. Those few learned the will of the King of Spirits and relayed it among the people, and kept the harmony in the world. It prevented people from working for their greed, running towards a sure path of destruction. The person who has met the King of Spirits is someone possessing all the abilities of a shaman, who can be one with the King of Spirits. They were known as The Savior in the history, the king amongst shamans, the Shaman King. I thought that it was cool and decided that I wanted to become the Shaman King. I want to become friends with that all-knowing King of Spirits and live an easygoing life. So I started training."

Yoh finished off his story with a smile on his lips and placed his head in his right hand as he propped it up. Manta, Amidamaru, and I looked at him in disbelief as our mouths fell open and he just laughed. I was pretty sure that if I could see the spirit his facial expression would match ours.

Something that grand and he wanted to become the Shaman King in order to befriend the King of Spirits and use it to live an easygoing life?!

"What an impure motivation... Even so, it's better than having Ren Tao as the Shaman King. Any way I look at it, I just can't see him as a savior." Manta said.

"I have to agree with you on that. Yoh would definitely be better than him. With the way Ren is right now, he would end up destroying all of humanity." I said as I agreed with him.

Ren hates the world too much to do anything else.

"I can't even understand that tale of the savior very well but if that Shaman King really is a savior we have to stop Ren Tao!" Manta said as he stood up.

"Well, that's him. I'll become the Shaman King and I'll live an easygoing lifestyle for the rest of my life!" Yoh said as he sat up and crossed his arms over his chest before he laughed.

Amidamaru and Manta looked at each other in disbelief as I shook my head and chuckled. This guy really is unbelievable.

We goofed off for a little while until I felt a familiar pulling sensation. It felt stronger then normal and a confused expression appeared on my face. I felt like Ren was calling out to me again. Yoh suddenly started to get out of the bed and I looked at him in concern. Once he put his feet on the floor he winced in pain and held his left shoulder. What is he doing?! He's not in good enough condition to leave the hospital!

"Lord Yoh!" Amidamaru said with worry.

"Are you all right?" Manta asked also with worry.

"Of course I'm not. It's really painful." Yoh responded in a relaxed manner.

"Then why are you getting up? You should stay in bed." I said with concern in my voice.

"Yeah. Wouldn't it be better if you slept a bit more?" Manta asked.

"I can't do that either. I don't want to cause trouble." Yoh said.

The pulling feeling suddenly increased ten fold and I had a feeling in my gut that Ren was here.

"Lord Yoh!" Amidamaru shouted tensely as he turned around to look out the window.

"Yeah... I guess we have to go." Yoh said seriously.

He stood up despite the pain that I knew he was feeling and walked over to the window to look outside as he stood next to Amidamaru.

"What is it?" Manta asked with a worried expression on his face as he also walked over to the window to look out of it.

I decided to walk over to the window and also looked outside just as Manta backed away in fear. My eyes landed on Ren the moment I looked outside as he smirked at Yoh. He was on the sidewalk just outside of the property with his Kwan Dao out and ready to go so that he could fight Yoh once again. The second Ren's eyes made it to mine a look of anger appeared on his features and he glared at me with a deadly look in his eyes that seemed to pierce through me. The spirit immediately became nervous due to the situation. It was just as I suspected, Ren wasn't only after Yoh he was also after me and this time Ayumi wasn't around to help me if Yoh ended up losing to him for a second time. I would have to rely on the spirit to help me out if it comes to that. I'm certain that I'd come to Yoh's aid just like the other night. Hopefully he wouldn't try to stop me.

"It's better than not having anything. I would say it's that sort of situation." Amidamaru said seriously as he looked down at the metal poles that the hospital used to dry clothes.

Yoh just laughed as I frowned while I continued to look Ren in the eye.

This was a pretty serious situation. Ayumi managed to beat Ren up pretty severely. The fact that he had recovered as quickly as he did only shows the harshness of the training that he had to go through to become a shaman. If he were any normal boy he wouldn't be able to stand without some pain. He made it seem like the fight that took place just a few nights ago didn't even happen. Yoh on the other hand, was still in horrible condition since he almost had his arm chopped off.

"How are we going to get out of here without getting caught?" I asked.

Yoh opened the window to the room and spoke with a grin.

"We'll climb out of the window."

"What?! What do you mean we'll climb out of the window?! We're on the second floor!" I shouted at him with an incredulous look on my face.

"It's the only way we can get out of here without being caught right?"

"No way! If we get out of here we're going to use the normal way. You're not in good enough condition to climb out of windows that are on the second floor." I said stubbornly.

The spirit said something and Yoh, Manta, and Amidamaru looked at him.

"You know that she won't do what you want." Yoh said.

"What is he saying?" I asked.

"He doesn't want you to come with. He thinks it's too dangerous for you."

"I am not going to leave you and Manta to fend for yourselves while I save myself." I said stubbornly.

The spirit said something else before I felt him distance himself from me as he headed away from me.

"What's going on? What's he doing?" I asked in confusion.

"He said that he's going to try to talk to Ren first." Manta said.

"Talk to Ren about what? That boy is stubborn. I was able to gather at least that at the end of the fight between him and Ayumi before he fell unconscious. He won't listen to whatever it is he has to say."

"The spirit seemed pretty adamant about talking to him. Let's leave them alone for a few minutes and then head down." Yoh said.

I stayed in the room for a few minutes with Yoh, Manta, and Amidamaru even though I didn't want to and then we headed out of the room. Amidamaru looked around the building to make sure that it was safe to head into the hallway before we slowly made our way down the stairs to the first floor. When we made it over to electronic doors of the building I saw Ren in front of us as he looked at the spirit with a frown on his face. After he heard the doors slide open his eyes landed on us and he immediately looked at me. The deadly glint in his eyes wasn't there anymore but I could tell that he still wasn't happy.

"Fine I'll spare her for the time being. However, I won't forgive her for standing in my way and defeating me. I will have my revenge." Ren said to the spirit as he looked back at him.

How...? How did he manage to convince him not to attack me? Who is the spirit?

Yoh walked over to the metal laundry poles and stole one before Ren turned around and we followed him into the woods that were just outside of the city. He led us into a large clearing and a frown appeared on my lips again. A whirlwind of emotions flowed through me again and just like so many times I was thankful to have the spirits warm and comforting presence next to me. Manta and I stayed at the edge of the clearing as Yoh and Ren walked over to the center of it. Manta decided to hide behind a bush that was next to us while I stood next to him in plain view. Ren already knew that we were here. There was no point in hiding from him.

I looked up at the sky and saw that you could see the stars just like you can in the Funbari Cemetery.

"You can see the stars clearly here too." I said softly.

"What?" Manta asked me in confusion.

"It's nothing." I said with a fake smile on my lips as I looked at him.

Ren and Yoh faced each other with a large amount of space between them as they prepared to fight once again.

"Surely you're not thinking that using something longer would help, right?" Ren asked with an arrogant smirk on his lips.

"So what?" Yoh said a little annoyed.

"It's laughable."

I was worried about the fact that Yoh was at an extreme disadvantage both physically and skill wise. At the moment he didn't know how to merge with a spirit as efficiently as Ren and due to their last fight he was already wounded. His weapon also wasn't ideal for a samurai.

"Bason!" Ren shouted.

"Yes!" Bason shouted as he appeared behind him.

"Amidamaru!" Yoh shouted.

"All right!" Amidamaru shouted as he appeared behind Yoh.

Bason and Amidamaru stared each other down while Ren and Yoh did the same thing. After a few moments Bason's formed changed as he turned red and formed into a ball Ren's hand.

"Spirit Ball Mode!" Ren shouted.

"Amidamaru!" Yoh shouted as he lifted his right hand over his head.

Amidamaru turned blue as he formed into a ball in Yoh's right hand.

"Spirit Ball Mode!" Yoh shouted.

"Over Soul Merge!" they shouted at the same time as they pushed the spirits into their chests.

They stood in front of each other for a moment before Ren started attacking Yoh as he slashed at him with his Kwan Dao over and over again. Yoh was forced to defend himself before he suddenly decided to bring the long pole in his hands straight out in front of him. Ren's blade sliced the pole in half and Yoh took a step back.

"Thank you." Yoh said with a small smile.

He threw half of the pole to the side and held the other half in his hands like it was a sword.

"The length is perfect now." Yoh said.

A smirk reappeared on Ren's lips before he swung at him. Yoh jumped up into the air as he avoided the attack and began to swing at Ren. As he swung at him Ren used the long handle of his Kwan Dao to block each of his swings as he walked backwards and Yoh walked forward. He was finally beginning to push back. Ren, however, eventually managed to get the upper hand as Yoh took another swing at him. Yoh had left himself open and Ren took his chance to hit him in the stomach with the back end of his Kwan Dao. Yoh fell to his knees and held his stomach in pain as he looked up at Ren who smirked down at him sadistically.

"Looks like that's your best. I'm not even using 30 percent of my power."

"What?!" Manta and I said in alarm.

Ren spoke again as he pointed the blade of his Kwan Dao at Yoh.

"A shaman who calls his spirit his friend, and can't control it..."

I watched on tensely as he raised the blade of his Kwan Dao over his head as he prepared to strike.

"You disgust me!"

Ren swung his blade down and Yoh managed to avoid his attack as he quickly stood up and ran over to the side. The force from Ren's attack was strong enough to send dirty flying up into the air as his blade slammed into the ground. Yoh quickly took his chance to run into the woods and a sadistic grin appeared on Ren's face as he followed after him. Manta, the spirit, and I silently followed after them as Ren sliced through the trees as he aimed his attacks at Yoh.

"When a spirit merges into a shaman's body two spirits exist simultaneously. One body with two wills. It's impossible to have two different wills in one body."

Ren charged forward to try to attack him again as he continued to speak.

"That is why, to use a spirit properly, one must use it as a tool to 100 percent!"

Yoh defended himself with his pole and then spoke as he aimed an attack of his own at Ren as Ren pulled his weapon back.

"I told you Amidamaru is my friend!" Yoh shouted angrily.

Ren used the handle of his Kwan Dao and blocked the attack.

"I could use that samurai spirit."

"What?!"

Ren pushed his pole back and then twirled his weapon before he rapidly jabbed at him with the blade of his weapon. Yoh looked at him with wide eyes as Ren just barely missed him due to the trees getting in the way. A nearby tree fell to the ground between them after it was chopped down like so many others.

"Running into the woods... He's using his brain quite well. Thanks to that, I can't use Bason's blade as freely as I want."

They both continued to fight but Yoh was slowly starting to lose his stamina. He was panting heavily and looked exhausted. I was starting to get pretty worried about how this fight was going to turn out.

"The reason you are still breathing is thanks to that samurai's spirit. He's fighting quite well with only 10 percent of his strength. It's such a waste on a shaman like you. I'll make good use of it!"

Ren pushed Yoh back and then launched another attack at him.

"After slaying you, I will make it mine!" Ren shouted.

Ren's attack sent Yoh flying into the air and he crashed back down onto the ground in the clearing.

"Yoh...!" I said in alarm.

Amidamaru appeared next to Yoh's fallen form as their merge broke.

"Lord Yoh!" Amidamaru shouted.

"I'm okay." Yoh said as he struggled to push himself up onto his hands and knees.

"This doesn't look good! They aren't merged anymore!" I said with worry in my voice as Manta, the spirit, and I made it back over to the edge of the clearing again.

"Humph. Even the stamina to keep the Over Soul Merge ran out?" Ren asked mockingly as he slowly walked out from the shadows of the trees.

"None of your business." Yoh said a little irritated with pain in his voice as he held his left shoulder with his right hand.

"I'm sorry, Lord Yoh. If only I was stronger!" Amidamaru said tensely as he looked at Ren.

"You are strong enough already, Amidamaru. The one who's lacking the skill is me."

Yoh looked over at him with a smile and continued to speak.

"Now go. You shouldn't have any grudge on this world. Go to the otherworld where Mosuke is."

My eyes widened in alarm along with Amidamaru's as Manta fell to his hands on knees.

"The otherworld?" Manta asked.

"H-He's giving up?" I asked softly.

I walked out from behind the trees and shouted at him with a desperate look on my face.

"You're not serious! Don't tell me that you're serious! You're just going to give up?!"

Yoh looked at me with a smile on his lips and spoke.

"For the time being your safe. Why don't you take you and Manta away from here in case he decides to change his mind and tries to attack you?"

"No!" I shouted.

"I can't fight anymore."

"But-!"

"You should leave while you still can. I don't want you or Manta to see what's going to happen."

I looked at him with horror on my face as my heart twisted painful in my chest.

He wasn't serious...! He couldn't be! After all this time I was finally starting to get a glimpse of what it was like to get close to someone again! I couldn't let him be killed! I had to do something.

I looked around the area to see if I could find anything to use in order to come to his aid but there was nothing.

"Amidamaru, you are still my main spirit. While I'm still standing like this he can't make you into his main spirit. And the spirit who died peacefully once could never return to this world. So there will be no chance of you becoming his main spirit. Go, Amidamaru!" Yoh said calmly.

Ren charged forward as he prepared to attack him. My heart skipped a beat and I ran forward without thinking.

"I won't let you do that! I won't allow that samurai to rest in peace, and will make him mine after I slay you!" Ren shouted.

Amidamaru seemed to have the same idea as me as he and I stood in front of him protectively. I felt the spirit's nervousness come back with a vengeance since I had just thrown myself in front of Yoh once again. Ren stopped running forward as he looked at us in shock. I looked Ren straight in the eye as an angry expression appeared on his face.

"What are you two doing?! Amidamaru! (Name)! Hurry up and go!" Yoh shouted desperately.

"No!" I shouted at him stubbornly with a desperate look on my face.

"I also refuse. I'm very well aware that I can't do anything. However, even if I can't win fleeing with my lord behind is worse than any shame to a warrior's honor! Also, resting in peace is impossible. I already have an attachment of affection to Lord Yoh!" Amidamaru shouted.

"As for me, I can't leave you here! Did you seriously think that I would run away knowing that your going to get killed if I don't try to do something?! Aren't friends supposed to stick by each other no matter what?! Could you really call me a friend if I just left you?! I'm not really into the idea of feeling guilty about leaving you behind while I try to save myself!"

"Amidamaru... (Name)..." Yoh said with a small smile on his face.

Ren laughed as his bangs covered his eyes before he spoke.

"What a beautiful friendship, you fools. Because of such stupid feelings you guys will disappear!" he said angrily.

"Yoh! (Name)!" Manta shouted in alarm as Ren ran forward.

I looked at Ren annoyed and then decided to take off my shoe and threw it at his face. He froze in place along with everyone else as they looked at me in disbelief.

"You idiot! Do you really want to have his blood on your hands?! Ling told me that you were smart but right now you're just being an idiot!"

"What?!" he asked me annoyed.

"If you killed him you will feel guilty about it."

"You don't know what you're talking about!"

"Don't I? I learned about you from the one person who knew about you the most." I asked him challengingly.

His body shook as he looked at me angrily.

"I was going to spare you for at least tonight but since you've decided to get involved again I'll just have to strike you down along with that fool!" he shouted as he ran forward to attack me.

I felt the spirit fly towards me as Manta yelled out in surprise when a gust of wind engulfed the area. The wind was strong enough that it forced Ren to stay back as the spirit made it over to me and protected me from him. After that Yoh quickly stood in front of us with the metal pole in his hands in order to also protect me.

"Spirit take her back over to Manta. I can handle the rest." Yoh said.

The spirit didn't have to be told twice. He used his wind and pushed me back over to the edge of the clearing where Manta was. When I turned back around Ren glared at me coldly with a deadly look in his eyes.

"Fine. I'll slay you and then I'll slay her."

I watched on tensely as Ren charged at Yoh but this time it was different. Yoh managed to block Ren's attack with his pole and then managed to throw him back into the air. Ren landed on the ground a little ways in front of him in a crouched position as he smirked at him. A large amount of blue energy surrounded Yoh's body and my eyes widened in surprise along with Ren's and Manta's. A serious expression appeared on Ren's face as he continued to look at Yoh before he spoke.

"In that case, Bason! 100% Spirit Fusion!"

Ren launched another attack at him but Yoh managed to block it with his pole.

"He blocked it?!" Manta asked in shock and a little relief.

Yoh pushed Ren back for a second time and he landed on the ground in a crouched position again. This time he continued to slide back a little due to the force of Yoh retaliation and his fingers dug into the grass as they made lines of dirt appear.

"100% Spirit Fusion! How could it be...?" Ren asked in shock and disbelief.

"You taught us that when both wills become one, 100 percent of the spirit's power can be used." Yoh said.

Yoh walked over to the other end of the pole that was sticking up from the ground and stood next to it before he continued to speak.

"Right now our will has become one. No matter what happens we absolutely won't leave each other!"

Yoh grabbed the other half of the pole and then turned towards Ren with both of the poles in his hands as he took a fighting stance.

"Cut the crap!" Len shouted angrily as he jumped up into the air.

There was an extremely angry expression on his face as Ren launched an attack at Yoh and he continued to shout at him.

"100% Spirit Fusion is impossible without conquering the spirit!"

"No, it exists here! Amida-Style: Halo Blade!" Yoh shouted as he launched an attack of his own.

My eyes widened in surprise as Ren's Kwan Dao was destroyed and he was thrown back up into the air.

"It can't be... The 100 percent Chinese Slash Dance was..." Ren said in shock and pain before the crashed down onto the ground behind Yoh.

After a few moments Yoh also fell forward onto the ground and fell unconscious.

"Yoh!" Manta shouted as we both ran over to Yoh.

I looked over at Ren and saw him look at me and Yoh with a deadly look in his eyes as he glared at us before he quickly made his escape. It definitely wouldn't be the last we saw of him. I really had made a bad impression with him. The spirit quickly came to my side and it felt like he was hugging me once again.

"Sorry... I didn't mean to worry you again. I just reacted without thinking." I said to him.

Manta looked over at me and I smiled a tired but relaxed smile. Yoh was alive and Ren was defeated once again. For right now, everything was finally over.

When Yoh finally woke up from his mini nap Manta and I helped him get back inside of his hospital room so he could finally start to recover from his previous fight. Manta and I were worried about him and decided to stay with him over night to make sure that he would be okay. I knew that my parents wouldn't be happy but at the moment I decided not to worry about it. As we watched over Yoh my thoughts occasionally went back to Ren and unfortunately Ling. Every time I encountered Ren I couldn't help but be reminded of him...

"I'm over it." I said softly as I closed my eyes and finally drifted off to sleep with the spirits comforting presence next to me.


	9. Chapter 9: Anna and Her Offer

**A/N:** Here's the next chapter to the story! I hope that all of you like it!

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Anna and Her Offer**

"Fiancée?!" Amidamaru and Manta suddenly shouted in shock.

"W-What?" I asked as my eyes shot open and I looked around frantically.

Amidamaru had a blush on his cheeks as he and Manta looked at an unknown girl who was standing in the doorway with extremely shocked expressions on their faces. I felt like the spirit was also shocked by something as I looked at everyone in confusion.

She had shoulder length blonde hair and black eyes. Her outfit was a long red bandana on the top of her head, a simple sleeveless black dress that reached down to the middle of her thighs, a long blue rosary necklace, a blue bead bracelet that matched it, and a pair of olive green slippers. If I had to venture a guess I'd say that she was around the same age as Manta and Yoh.

"You're injuries, they don't look like they're a big deal." she said to Yoh.

An incredulous look appeared on my face as I stared at her. Who in the world is this girl? How can she say that his wounds aren't a big deal? If they weren't he wouldn't be in the hospital right now!

Yoh didn't say anything and looked at her with a tired smile on his face. The girl looked over at Manta who was still looking at her in shock along with Amidamaru.

"I'm thirsty. Juice, go buy one for me." she ordered with a smile.

There was way too much ruckus for this early in the morning... Why did this girl seem to think that she could just order Manta around anyway?

Manta looked at her unhappily but headed out of the room to do as she asked as disbelief appeared on my face.

He's seriously going to do it?! Doesn't he have any pride?!

"H-Hey, I have to go to the bathroom." Yoh said nervously as he climbed out of bed and headed towards the exit of the room.

It was obvious that he was trying to escape from her.

"Fine, I'll keep your samurai spirit as hostage. Be back here in 5 minutes." she said.

She suddenly took off her rosary and wrapped it around Amidamaru before he could escape and somehow stopped him from moving around freely as tears began to stream down his cheeks. Yoh hesitantly nodded his head and walked out of the room as I tiredly rubbed my face.

"Who are you?" she asked me as she glared down at me from my spot on the floor.

"(First Name) (Last Name), who are you?"

"Anna Kyoyama, I am Yoh's fiancée."

"I see, so that's why Amidamaru and Manta freaked out and shouted "fiancée" in surprise." I said.

"You don't sound surprised." she said as an observation.

"I'm a little surprised but unlike Manta and Amidamaru I'm not going to freak out about it. It's not like I haven't heard of people who are younger than you and Yoh being engaged. I take it that you're a shaman then?"

"I'm a Spiritualistic Medium."

I nodded my head even though I didn't actually know what that was as I tried to wake up. I'm not the kind of person who wakes up and talks to people first thing in the morning. The room was silent as Anna walked over to the hospital bed and sat down while Amidamaru still had tears streaming down his cheeks. After a few minutes Anna huffed in annoyance.

"They're late."

Amidamaru looked over at me in tears and a look that said he wanted my help.

"...So, why did you capture Amidamaru?" I asked.

"I have to make sure that they don't run away."

"Why do you think Yoh would run away? He's your fiancé isn't he? Doesn't he want to get married to you?" I asked in confusion.

I do have to admit though that it did look like he wanted to run away...

She turned her head to look at me from over her shoulder but before she could answer Yoh and Manta walked back into the room and we looked at them.

"You're late. You were planning to run away and forget about this samurai spirit?" Anna asked sternly.

"Lord Yoh!" Amidamaru said with tears still streaming down his cheeks.

A freaked out expression appeared on Yoh's face as he tensed up and I looked at him in amusement. It looks like Anna could read him pretty well. It's no wonder why she decided to hold Amidamaru hostage. I wonder why he'd want to run away though.

"I guess I was right after all. How shameful."

Anna suddenly looked back at the spot where the spirit was with an annoyed expression on her face. He must have opened his mouth and said something.

"What was that?" she asked threateningly.

Fear seemed to suddenly go through him and whatever he said satisfied her since she decided to look back at Yoh.

"Well that's fine. That's why I came here." she said.

Yoh made a sound of confusion as she stood up and released Amidamaru from her rosary. Tears of joy streamed down Amidamaru's cheeks and he disappeared only long enough to reappear behind Yoh as he put some distance between him and Anna. He had a weary expression on his face as he looked at her and she continued to speak.

"From today on, you have to undertake my special training course."

"Special? What's that mean?" Yoh asked.

He definitely didn't look too thrilled about the prospect.

"Don't you want to become a Shaman King? Then, do as I command. I won't do anything bad to you."

"I... I have my own ways of carrying thing out." Yoh said with a tired and weary expression on his face.

Anna was silent for a few moments before she spoke sternly.

"Do you want to die?"

Yoh looked at her in surprise from her question along with the rest of us.

"For you as you are right now, Shaman King is a dream amongst dreams. Not only that. Against all the shamans gathering from all over the world, you won't even survive." she said.

"All over the world?!" Amidamaru asked in shock with a tense look on his face.

"Survive...?" Manta asked.

"Anna, what are you talking about?" I asked as I stood up.

"Anna..." Yoh said with a serious expression on his face.

"Yes." she said.

She turned around to face me as she continued to speak.

"People forgot about the existence of the Great Spirit and acted solely on their desires. Now that the world is filled with chaos, the time has finally come to accept the King of Spirits. Shamans from all over the world are gathering to fight over the shaman's place as the savior of this world in the Shaman Fight in Tokyo." she said before she looked back at Yoh.

My eyes widened in shock before Manta spoke.

""Shaman Fight in Tokyo"? "In Tokyo" she says." he said as he laughed.

"What's so funny? Water meat bun." she asked annoyed as she insulted him.

"Ah, um..." Manta said before a look of gloom and fear appeared on his face.

I knew what she was talking about. It was almost time for the tournament that would determine who the next Shaman King was going to be. That explains why shamans were all of a sudden starting to pop up again.

Anna turned back around and completely faced Yoh as she spoke again.

"Humans only can reveal their true potential during an absolutely critical situation that's why fighting is the best way to decide who will be the Shaman King. In Tokyo, shamans from all over the world are already gathering with their ideals in their heart, with their most trusted spirits."

"Lord Yoh..." Amidamaru said as he looked at Yoh with a serious expression on his face.

"Yeah."

"Then, that boy Ren, too?"

"Knowing this, your need for special training is obvious, isn't it?" Anna asked.

"Even so... I still think... I have my own way of..." Yoh started to say nervously.

Anna put her face close to his as she stepped forward and spoke annoyed as she cut him off.

"You have to live through the Shaman Fights!"

She might seem like she's being stern but I knew that she was genuinely concerned for his wellbeing just like any other fiancée would be. A fight between two shamans wasn't a laughing matter. If he fought against Ren again he'd definitely try to kill him.

She took a step back and spoke calmly.

"Because, I want to be the Shaman King's First Lady. Since you'll be my husband, you have to become Shaman King no matter what. As for me, you have to give me an easy life!" she declared.

Amidamaru, Yoh, and Manta's mouths opened his shock.

"What's that?!" they shouted.

I burst out into laughter. She sounded just like Yoh! They probably were a good match for each other after all!

"What are you laughing about?" Anna asked me with an annoyed expression on her face.

"It's nothing. You just sounded so much like Yoh." I said with a chuckle as I shook my head.

"You're awake?" Manta asked me in surprise.

"I've been awake since you guys found out about the fact she was Yoh's fiancée. Besides, do you really think that I'd be able to sleep through this kind of racket?" I asked him.

"Yo!" Yoh said with a grin on his face as he waved at me.

"Morning." I said as I stretched my arms up above my head.

"Is he your primary spirit?" Anna asked me as she pointed at the empty spot next to me.

"No. I'm not a shaman and I can't even see him." I said.

"You can't see him?" she asked in surprise.

"No."

"But you can see him?" Anna asked as she pointed over at Amidamaru.

"Yes. It's as big of a mystery to you as it is to me. He's the only spirit I can't see."

She looked at me in thought but didn't say anything as I decided to talk to Manta and Yoh.

"I think I'm going to leave now that it seems like Yoh's doing okay. I'm sure that my parents aren't going to be very happy with the fact I stayed out all night. They're going to be furious to be honest."

"Sure. See you later!" Yoh said with a smile as I walked towards the door.

"Bye (Name)!" Manta said with a smile.

"See you guys later. It was nice to meet you Anna." I said with a smile as I waved at them and stepped into the hallway.

When I unlocked the front door to the house I quietly walked through it and tried to sneak over to my bedroom that was just down the hallway until I heard someone clear their throat. I jumped a little in surprise and then hesitantly looked over in their direction. My mother was standing in the doorway of the dining room with her arms crossed over her chest as she glared at me with her emerald green eyes. Today her silky brown hair was up in a high ponytail and she was wearing a red suit jacket over a white shirt and a pair of black slacks.

"Where were you last night?" she asked me sternly.

"I was hanging out with my friends." I said quietly as I turned around to face her.

"Doing what? It didn't require you to be out all night did it?"

"We just talked and walked around in the woods. Before we knew it we had fallen asleep outside."

There was no way I was going to tell her what happened. Both of my parents would completely flip their lids if they found out.

She looked at me for a few moments with a frown and then spoke sternly.

"Well don't do it again. Wash up and get ready for school it's time for breakfast."

I quickly nodded my head and did as she asked. I knew that she had let me off really easy this time but she was probably starting to question who my friends were. Luckily, nothing else was said about my whereabouts that night.

A couple months have passed since the day I met Anna and it was already summer vacation. Manta and I were taking supplementary vacation classes and I wished that I wasn't but my parents always forced me to. Today we only had classes in the morning and the rest of our day was free to do whatever we wanted. The second they were over the spirit and I met up with Manta at the school gate.

"Let's go find a bench on Yoh's training route. Hopefully he won't be too far into it." I said to Manta who nodded his head as he climbed up onto his bike.

After Anna appeared she moved into Yoh's house and started to train him everyday once he was released from the hospital. It didn't even matter if he was in school or not she always had him doing something. During lunch I would also see Manta training with Yoh even though he wasn't going to be fighting in the shaman fights. Her training was so harsh that after the first week Yoh collapsed on his way out the door the first time we arrived at his house. Anna had also seemed to decide that Manta was her personal house keeper. She made him clean the house or cook dinner whenever we went there.

Strangely enough, Anna never made me train even though I was hanging out with all of them. Instead I've been able to just sit around the house and read magazines or watch television with her, a crying Amidamaru who was her hostage, and the spirit. It was nice to be able to hangout with her. She and I have even become close friends. Manta, however, thought that she was an evil person and I couldn't blame him for it since she was forcing him to do all the house work. It was obvious that she was making him do it since she didn't want to do it herself. I knew though that she wasn't evil. The training that she was forcing Yoh to go through was her way of showing that she was worried for him and only wanted what was best for him.

I sat down on a bench with the spirit next to me while Manta stayed on his small bicycle as we waited for Yoh to appear. We knew that he'd show up at some point. Anna generally had him run along the same route everyday unless she decided to change the course a little to make it longer.

"I wish that I could be like Yoh and Anna. I don't want to take summer classes." I said with a sigh as I closed my eyes.

"Yeah but at least you don't have to go through the harsh training that Anna's been making him go through since she moved into his house. You've seen a small glimpse of it at school."

"That's true... It looks like hell, complete and total hell." I muttered.

"It is." Manta said.

After a few moments Manta looked over to the side and made a small sound of happiness.

"Yoh!" Manta yelled out.

"Yo!" Yoh said as I looked over at him.

"Do you mind having some company while you train?" I asked with a smile as I stood up.

"Okay." he said with a tired smile on his face while he ran in place.

Yoh started to run forward again with Manta, the spirit, and I following behind him as he led us in whatever direction he was headed. Manta had it a little bit easier then me and Yoh since he was on his bicycle. In a way I wish that I would have done the same thing.

"Amidamaru is still in her possession?" Manta asked as we noticed that Amidamaru wasn't around again.

"Yeah." Yoh said.

"Poor guy." I said with a small laugh.

I could just imagine him crying...

"What about your supplemental vacation classes?"

"Hm? They're only in the morning today." Manta said.

"Even though its summer you actually feel like studying?" Yoh asked as we stopped and jogged in place at the next intersection.

"I like studying to begin with."

"I can't understand." Yoh said as he turned right and began to run forward again.

"Speak for yourself Manta. I just want to relax. I'm tired of studying all the time." I said as I followed after him with Manta and the spirit.

"Yoh, you train on a daily basis too, don't you?" Manta asked.

"I'm being forced to! Ah... I want to roll around inside the house." Yoh said.

"Same. I wouldn't mind playing some video games." I said as I agreed with him.

"How many more kilometers today?" Manta asked.

"30..." Yoh said.

"Still that much..." Manta said with a smile as he felt pity for him.

I looked up ahead and noticed the spirit of a woman at the next intersection.

"Isn't that the spirit from Yoh's house?" Manta asked.

"Yes." I said before I waved at her.

Apparently there was some sort of tragedy that happened in Yoh's house with the previous family and they've been haunting it ever since. Anna's been using the situation to her advantage and has asked them to watch Yoh and report to her if he doesn't do the training she's asked him to do. They don't really seem like a bad family so I didn't particularly mind having them around. Manta though seemed to scream whenever one of them would suddenly pop up. One of the ghosts liked to do that to him for kicks. You'd think that he'd get used to a spirit suddenly popping up but he hasn't. It's rather amusing.

We stopped running as she pointed to her right and Yoh let out a yell.

"Ah! It's a signal to course change!"

A cloud of depression came over him as he slouched and continued to speak.

"I might have to run even further..."

"What?!" I shouted in alarm.

I was already wondering if I was out of my mind when we decided to run with him but if he's going to have to run even more...!

All of us began to run again while a feeling of dread over took me. This definitely wasn't one of my brighter ideas...

As we ran for hours on end a bad feeling came to the pit of my stomach and I had a feeling that something was going to happen. I don't know how long we were running for but by the time we were able to stop the sun was setting in the sky and I was beyond exhausted. How in the hell did Yoh do this everyday?! The only reason why we stopped was because we couldn't go any further and run!

Manta, Yoh, and I panted in exhaustion with our hands on our knees as we stood at the side of the river on the grass.

"Why this kind of place? Anna... She's not asking me to swim across here, right?" Yoh asked.

"From her, it wouldn't surprise me."

"No...! No way! I can't swim! Does it normally take you this long to run and do you normally run this far?!" I shouted as I fell onto the grass onto my hands and knees.

Unlike these two I haven't been training at all. My legs felt like jelly and I was so tired that all I wanted to do to was fall asleep right then and there.

The bad feeling in the pit of my stomach increased ten fold and I heard screeching tires behind us. We all turned our heads to look in the direction we heard the noise come from and I felt the spirit become nervous. My eyes widened in surprise when I saw two black vans as three people climbed out of both of them. They had on large black robes with hoods and some sort of rectangular shaped piece of paper over their faces that hid their identity.

"Who are they?" Manta asked in confusion.

"I don't know but I have a bad feeling about them." I said tensely as I forced myself to stand back up.

"Get away, Manta! (Name)!" Yoh said seriously.

My eyes widened in surprise when the people discarded their robes and then jumped up into the air to launch themselves at us. I attempted to run over to the side to get out of the way along with Manta but I wasn't fast enough. Yoh and I were both hit by a numb chuck and were sent flying to the side in the same direction as we yelled out in pain. My body slammed into the grass several times before I finally came to a stop next to Yoh.

"Ow! What the hell?!" I shouted in annoyance and pain as I slowly sat up.

"Yoh! (Name)! Let's run!" Manta shouted as he ran over to stand next to us.

I felt the spirit immediately come to my side with worry flowing through him.

"Ugh! I don't want to run anymore today." Yoh said in exhaustion with his right hand over his face.

"I agree." I said with pain in my voice.

"What are you talking about?! There are six of them and Amidamaru is...!" Manta shouted freaked out and worried.

"It's okay. It'll work out somehow." Yoh said as he took off the weights that were strapped to his wrists and ankles and then stood up.

"That's the spirit!" Amidamaru said as he suddenly appeared behind us.

"Amidamaru?!" Manta and I shouted in shock.

"How?" Manta asked in confusion.

"Anna must be nearby." I said.

"Manta, (Name), can you stand over to the side for a bit?" Yoh asked.

"Sure." I said with exhaustion in my voice as I stood up.

Manta quickly ran over to the side but when I tried to follow behind him three of the six guys jumped in front of me. A look of confusion appeared on my face as I took a step back and the nervousness of the spirit skyrocketed.

"What the hell?" I asked.

It was then that I realized that there was something that didn't seem quite right about them. They were incredibly pale and looked like parts of them had been stitched on.

"(Name)..." Yoh said with a little worry in his voice.

"It doesn't look like I can step to the side for this fight Yoh. Whoever they are, they're after both of us."

"Amidamaru! Spirit Ball Mode! Over Soul Merge!"

When they were finished merging Yoh shouted again.

"Amidamaru!"

The six men launched towards us and my eyes widened in alarm. Strong wind wrapped around me like a tornado and threw three of the guys back as the spirit protected me with it. The other three attacked Yoh and he jumped high into the air as he avoided their attack. As one of them swung at me I let out a yell of surprise and barely managed to jump back in time. Meanwhile, three of them went after Yoh and tried to attack him but he seemed to dodge all of their attacks fairly easily after he grabbed a random pole that was on the ground. As for me, the spirit protected me most of the time.

"These guys... are they Ren's companions or could it be a different shaman?" Amidamaru asked.

"Don't ask me." Yoh said calmly.

"Ren?" I asked.

His conclusion did make the most sense since Ren was the only one that had a problem with both of us but I knew that it wasn't him. Ren's specialty was Over Soul Merge's not controlling others. However, now that I think about it, Ling did mention that Jun and Ren's mother could manipulate corpses in order for them to carry out their wills. But if that was the case doesn't that mean that they're in Japan and they're near us?

I paled as another thought occurred to me.

"Wait a second! Are these guys dead?!" I shouted out with a freaked out expression on my face as chills ran down my spine.

"Yeah." Yoh said as he nodded his head.

Well I did think that they were unbelievably pale and seemed to be stitched together. Their strength wasn't entirely normal either.

I looked around the area to see if I could find anyone suspicious but I could only see Manta and Anna. It wasn't until I looked over at the nearby bridge that I noticed a black limousine that shouldn't have been there. Whoever it is that's controlling these guys must be inside of it, that's what my gut feeling was telling me.

"I'll be right back, okay Yoh?" I said.

I didn't wait for him to respond as I quickly ran towards the stairs to get over to the bridge.

"(Name)!" Yoh shouted for me in the distance.

I had only one thing on my mind and that was to get to the source of the problem at hand. The three guys who were after me followed me along with the spirit as I ran forward as fast as I could. When I was almost to the car I noticed that the driver and the passenger in the front seat were also dead guys with rectangular papers in front of their faces.

"What the hell?!" I shouted in shock.

The guy in the front passenger seat opened the door and stepped out to launch an attack at me. I didn't have time to dodge and decided that my only course of action was to charge at him and hope for the best as I pulled my fist back. When my fist collided with his face and the yellow piece of paper he suddenly turned to dust and I completely froze. My reaction was a little delayed as my mind tried to wrap around what had happened before I screamed in horror.

"W-W-What the hell?! He-He just disappeared?!" I screamed out as I turned pale.

Wind suddenly pushed me forward as the spirit protected me from another attack and I was forced in front of the back passenger seat of the limo. I looked over to my left and saw someone with green hair and blue eyes through the crack in the tinted window. There was shock and then pain in the person's eyes as they landed on me and then the spot where I assumed the spirit was. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a good look at their face since it was concealed by the window or even attempt to because I was forced to dodge another attack that was thrown at me.

"So... So all I have to do is touch these guys?" I asked myself a little freaked out.

"(Name)!" Yoh shouted in the distance as he ran up onto the bridge.

The limo quickly sped off and with Yoh's help the last of the guys were easily defeated. When the fight was finally over I collapsed onto my hands and knees with relief flowing through me.

"(Name)!" Manta shouted in worry as he made it over to me.

"H-Hey Manta." I said with a weak smile on my lips.

"Are you okay?!"

"Somehow... If it weren't for the spirit I would have been hurt pretty severely."

"What were you thinking running off like that?!"

"I saw a limousine on the bridge and decided that it was probably the person who sent those guys after us. It's better to deal with the actual source of the problem isn't it?" I asked.

"Did you find out who it was?" Amidamaru asked.

"No. I only saw that they had green hair and blue eyes. Their face was mostly covered by the tinted window so I couldn't see them properly."

I slowly stood back up as the rush of the fight finally wore off and spoke to Yoh.

"How did the fight go on your end? Since you're here I'm guessing it went well?"

"Yeah." he said with a nod.

"Yeah, you were great Yoh! I was worried since you were facing three opponents." Manta said excitedly.

"Me too, unlike the other Over Soul Merge in the past, I was very comfortable uniting!" Amidamaru said also in excitement.

"I, who hate to exercise, exercised that much... It's the outcome of your training!" Yoh said in obvious exhaustion.

"Anna also, maybe she wasn't just a demanding girl who seemed like a demon!" Manta said happily.

Yoh looked out to the river with a calm expression on his face before a tired and nervous smile appeared on his face as he smiled at him.

After that we all decided to go to Yoh's house to relax for a little while as the spirit ranted to Yoh and Manta about how reckless I had been. I could tell that he wasn't happy about what I did but I could also tell that he was extremely confused and worried about what happened. So was I. I didn't understand how I destroyed that guy with only a single punch.

"Yoh, come here." Anna called out as soon as we walked through the door to his house.

She was already in the living room lying on the floor on her right side with her head propped up in her right hand as she read a magazine with her back to us. We all had different emotions on our faces as we looked at her. I was confused like Amidamaru, Manta looked worried, and Yoh just looked plain old tired.

"Put those on along with the ones that you're already wearing." Anna ordered as she pointed to some weights that were on the floor.

We looked at each other before Yoh silently did as he was told and strapped one more weight on his ankles and wrists. By the time he was done he was so tired from today that it looked like he couldn't lift his arms very well.

"This... What is this...?" Yoh asked weakly as he winced a little in pain.

"Each is only 22 pounds. It's not too much, right? Starting tomorrow, run with those on." Anna ordered without even looking back at him.

"It's impossible! I can't even walk!" Yoh said in a whining voice like he was about to cry.

"That's to be expected if you want to become a Shaman King. If your main spirit is the King of Spirits, you can do anything you want with the world. Also, with me you can..." she said before she trailed off.

I looked at her with confusion and curiosity before she turned her head to look back at us.

"Anyways, hurry up and make food."

Yoh looked over at us with tears streaming down his cheeks and we all looked over to the side to avoid his gaze as he cried.

Sorry Yoh...

"Hurry up and get the supper ready! Yoh!" Anna ordered again before he cried out louder.

After that she looked over at me and spoke again.

"(Name), I want to talk to you for a moment."

"Okay?" I said in confusion as I walked further into the room and sat down next to her on the floor.

It felt nice to be able to relax after so much running...

"Yoh!" Anna order again.

He walked out of the room with tears still streaming down his cheeks as Amidamaru and Manta followed him and I looked at him with pity.

"I thought you said that you weren't a shaman." she said to me once they were out of hearing distance.

"I'm not." I said as I looked at her in confusion.

"Then how did you destroy that Jiang Shi?"

"I don't know."

"What?" she asked me as she looked at me in confusion.

"I said that I don't know how I destroyed it. When I punched him he somehow just turned into dust. It's the same way with the strange seals that I managed to break in the cemetery a little while ago."

"Seals?"

"Yeah, I found a hidden area in the Funbari Cemetery and broke the seals that were keeping a spirit named Ayumi inside for 500 years."

"Show me." she ordered as she stood up.

"Show you?" I asked her in confusion as she headed out of the room.

"Yoh! We're leaving! Make sure that the food is ready when we get back!" Anna ordered.

A sigh escaped my lips and I stood up to follow her along with the spirit.

"What? What's wrong?" Yoh asked in confusion as I stepped in the hallway.

"There's something I need (Name) to show me at the cemetery."

"I don't think that-."

"We're leaving." she said to me as she cut me off.

There was no room for discussion in her voice so I sighed and nodded my head.

"(Name)? What's going on?" Yoh asked in confusion.

I looked over at him and spoke.

"Anna wants to see the seals that I broke in the cemetery."

"Why?"

"I don't know. She saw me destroy one of the Jiang Shi on the bridge during the fight and-."

"What? You didn't destroy a Jiang Shi. All three of them were still there when I helped you out." he asked in confusion.

"Before you could make it to the bridge another one climbed out of the car as she approached it and she was able to destroy it." Anna said as she put on her shoes.

I heard the door open and looked over at her.

"Let's go." she ordered again.

Why was she acting like this?

"She did? How?" Yoh asked with a serious expression on his face as he looked at me again.

"I just punched the guy in the face and he turned into dust." I said with a perplexed look on my face.

Even Yoh's acting strange... The spirit also doesn't seem quite right.

"Really? How? You're not a shaman." Manta asked as he joined in the conversation.

"I don't know. I really don't know." I said as I put my shoes back on.

"Make sure that the food is done when we get back!" Anna ordered again before we walked out the door.

Once we made it to the cemetery I led her over to the area where Ayumi's headstone was. Ayumi was sitting on her headstone enjoying the peace and quiet when we walked into the clearing. Anna walked over to one of the large stone pillars that had a star symbol on it as Ayumi looked at us in confusion.

"(Name) what's going on?" she asked me.

"I don't know." I said.

"Who is she?"

"Anna Kyoyama, she's Yoh's fiancée."

"I see." she said as she nodded her head.

We silently watched Anna as she walked over to Ayumi's headstone and looked down at the small stones that had the same symbol.

"You said that you broke the seals, correct?" Anna asked.

"Yes." I said as I nodded.

"How?"

"I just walked through the barrier that had been created by the large stone pillars and then I touched another smaller barrier that was created by the small stones around Ayumi's headstone. After that the seal broke."

"You only touched it?" she asked in surprise.

"Yes? Why?"

"I can tell that these were incredibly powerful seals. Very few people could have been able to penetrate their barriers let alone destroy them."

"They were. They were created by the most powerful shaman in history, Hao Asakura." Ayumi said.

"Asakura?" Anna and I asked.

"Yes. He's the one who sealed me." she said with pain in her eyes.

"So that's why you recognized the Asakura name when Yoh told you who he was." I said before she nodded her head.

"Why would a member of the Asakura seal you?" Anna asked tensely.

"I stopped him from trying to destroy humanity."

A look of confusion appeared on Anna's face as she looked at her while trying to decide if she was able to trust her.

"Anna, you don't have to worry about Ayumi. You can trust her. She's helped me out before and she's also the same priestess that saved this town 1,000 years ago." I said to her reassuringly.

She hesitantly nodded her head after a few moments and then decided to crouch down to further examine one of the small stones on the ground.

"These cracks..." Anna said.

"Yeah. I don't know how but she had enough power to break the seal and almost completely cracked through the stones and pillars surrounding this area."

"How did you find out about it? It's obvious that this area was sealed off. There were more seals at the front of the pathway that leads into here." Anna asked me as she stood up and looked at me.

"I just had a gut feeling and felt like someone was calling out to me. That person turned out to be Ayumi."

"If you were anyone else I would say that you were lying to me when you told me that you weren't a shaman."

"There's also something else you should know." Ayumi said.

"What?" Anna asked as she looked over at her.

"I possessed her for an extended period of time and managed to fight off a boy named Ren Tao but she somehow managed to wake up only a few moments after my spirit left her body."

Anna nodded her head and then looked at me in silence for a few moments.

"The power that you possess far exceeds most of the shaman's in the world today."

"You think so too." Ayumi asked.

"Yes."

"You can't be serious." I said as I looked at them with an incredulous look on my face.

I could tell that the spirit didn't like where the conversation was headed. He felt extremely nervous, as nervous as I did.

"There are only a few people that come to mind that even come close to the amount of power that you have." Ayumi said.

I looked at both of them like they had lost their minds before I spoke with a small smile on my face.

"I'm sorry, but there is no way that I could possibly have as much power as you two are claiming I do. I wasn't born into a shaman family. I couldn't even see spirits clearly until 5 years ago. There's no way that I could be-."

Anna cut me off and spoke.

"These seals were created by an incredibly powerful shaman and yet you managed to break them like they were nothing. It would have taken a great amount of power and intuition to be able to find this area. You were able to wake up only moments after Ayumi's fight with Ren even though she had possession of your body for an extended period of time without any shaman training."

"But-."

"You are somehow able to give the spirit of the boy the power to create a physical manifestation of wind that is strong enough to protect you if you're attacked. Lastly, you easily destroyed the Jiang Shi without needing to merge with a spirit. You simply touched it with your hand and turned it to dust."

"I..." I began to say but I couldn't continue.

I wanted to refute her claims but there were too many incidences for me to be able to say that they were just a coincidence.

"After everything that has happened can you still say that you're just a normal person who merely possesses a sixth sense like your cousin? Can you say that you're not someone who possesses shaman abilities?"

"Answer one question for me then." I said as I tried to prove them wrong.

I had to prove them wrong! I needed to prove them wrong!

"What?"

"If I'm so powerful why can't I see this boy that everyone says is always around me?" I asked both of them.

"I've been wondering the same thing ever since you told me about it." Ayumi said with a thoughtful expression on her face.

"And?" I asked.

There's no way that she could possibly have an answer for it.

"I can't say this for certain but maybe you don't want to see him or he doesn't want you to see him."

"What? Why wouldn't I want to see someone that I don't know? I though that if you could see spirits you could see all of them. Also, why wouldn't he want me to see him?" I said as I gave her an incredulous look.

"Are you sure that you don't know him?" Anna asked.

"Yes. I'm sure." I said as I looked at her in confusion.

"How can you be so sure if you've never seen him? You can't see him." Ayumi said.

"You boy, what is your name? Who are you?" Anna asked as she looked over at the empty spot to my right.

The spirit became extremely nervous from the question.

"Tell us." Anna ordered.

A bad feeling came to the pit of my stomach. The answer to that question scared me for some reason. I wanted to know and yet a part of me also doesn't.

"Y-You know, you don't have to bother him. It's fine if I don't know who he is." I said nervously.

They looked at me in surprise for a few moments before they nodded their heads.

"It looks like I'm right." Ayumi said.

"Yes." Anna said in agreement.

I stood there in silence as I looked at them with my heart racing inside of my chest. Today really has been one hell of a day... Who in the hell could the spirit be? Why do I want to know who he is and yet I don't want to know at the same time? Why do I have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach all of a sudden? If it's the spirit that's stopping me from seeing him why doesn't he want me to see him?

"Say... Just say for a moment that I decide to go with what you guys are telling me. What am I supposed to do about it?" I said slowly.

I immediately felt the spirits surprise from my question.

"That's for you to decide but I'm giving you to option to train with Yoh in order to help you strengthen your abilities."

"Train with Yoh?" I asked her in surprise.

"You seem to be a target of the same person who is after Yoh. As you are now, if Yoh and the spirit wouldn't have been there you would have been easily killed earlier today."

"What would training with Yoh accomplish for me other than possibly gaining some muscles? I don't even know how to properly merge with a spirit."

"That's why I will teach you, if you are willing."

"I will also help." Ayumi said.

"I'm only going to give you this chance once. Take it or leave it."

The spirit didn't seem like he was happy about their proposition. In fact, he seemed to dislike it quite a bit. I could tell from his nervousness and unhappiness.

Anna and Ayumi looked over at him as he said something.

"Do you want her to die?" Anna asked sternly.

He said something before she responded.

"Do you want her to be completely defenseless if you aren't around?"

I could feel the spirit begin to get annoyed.

"Why are you so against it?"

He said something again before she responded.

"Why not?"

Anna and Ayumi gave him a look of confusion and then looked over at me. I'm not following this conversation at all...

"We'll just have to wait for her answer." Anna replied.

"(Name) please think about it carefully." Ayumi said.

I hesitantly nodded my head and silently thought over Anna's proposition.

If I took this step there would be no turning back. I wouldn't be able to go back to acting like shamans didn't exist. I'd be too involved in their world. I'd be one of them. My world would forever change...

A part of me, however, knew that my world had already been forever changed. It changed the second I met Ling and became friends with him. My life hasn't been the same since then and I was only fooling myself to think that I would be able to hide from this side of the world because my parents wanted me to. I was simply running away from the pain and guilt that I felt. The truth was that I had already started to take my first steps back into this side of the world when I decided to become friends with Yoh, Manta, and Anna. With every action I've taken in the past 5 months I have become more and more involved in their world. It has brought me pain, sadness, worry, fear, and guilt as it reminded me of Ling and introduced me to Ren but it has also provided me with happiness and hope that I never thought I would feel again. I finally feel like I belong somewhere after spending 5 long years distancing myself from others because I knew deep down they wouldn't be able to accept me completely.

Would I really be okay with throwing this opportunity away? Would I really be okay with not being able to fulfill the promise I made to Ling? I know that fighting Ren and Jun was the only way I would get through to them. Would I really be okay with not being able to stand on my own two feet after all this time? Would I really be okay with being someone who couldn't fight for herself and who needs to be protected all the time?

All of those questions led me to only one answer...

"I accept." I said with a look of determination on my face as my heart raced inside of my chest.

I could feel the spirits surprise from my response as Anna smiled at me along with Ayumi.

"Good." Anna said.

I had just taken my final step into the world of shamans and I knew that I would never be able to go back.


	10. Chapter 10: Li Pailong

**A/N:**

Here is the next chapter to the story! I hope all of you like it!

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Li Pailong**

"(Name) says that she wants to become a shaman." Anna said to Yoh, Manta, and Amidamaru when we made it back to the house with the spirit and Ayumi in tow.

I could tell the spirit wasn't exactly thrilled about the situation. He felt extremely nervous and frustrated but he didn't try to stop me after I had made my decision.

Manta, Yoh, and Amidamaru stared at me for a few moments in complete silence as they blinked at me.

"What?!" they shouted in surprise and disbelief.

"I've offered to train her and so has Ayumi. She'll be doing the same special training you are." Anna said to Yoh as they looked at her and me in confusion.

I thought of the hellish training he had to go through on a daily basis and a feeling of dread took over me. What in the hell did I get myself into? If I didn't feel like I had a good reason there's absolutely no way I would be doing this. Hopefully I won't collapse after the first week like Yoh did. It wouldn't surprise me if he still collapsed while we weren't around to be honest...

I ate dinner at their house and stayed there for a little while as I watched television with Anna. All the running I did really took its toll on me. During that time Ayumi decided she was going to stay with Anna and Yoh instead of going back to the cemetery since she was now helping me train. They didn't seem to mind and neither did Amidamaru. In fact, those two seemed to hit it off pretty well.

"(Name)." Anna said as Manta and I were putting on our shoes to leave their house.

"What?" I asked her in confusion.

"As soon as your summer vocational classes are over I want you to come over to begin your special training."

"Okay." I said with a nod.

Yoh and Manta both looked at me and her in confusion again but they didn't say anything.

"Are you sure about this (Name)?" Manta asked me as we headed back to town.

"Yes. I'm sure."

"Why did you suddenly decide to become a shaman?"

"I made a promise to someone that I need to keep."

"A promise? To who?"

"An old friend." I said as I looked up at the night sky.

The rest of the way to town was silent and I parted ways with Manta before I headed home. I was a little nervous about my decision considering the circumstances but more than my fear I wanted to help Ren and Jun like I promised I would and I didn't want to have to rely on someone else to protect me. That night I had trouble falling asleep and the next day I was exhausted but I climbed out of bed and began my day.

When I made it to Yoh's place Anna was already outside waiting for me and handed me some weights to strap around my wrists and ankles. My body was already sore from yesterday's events but I did all of the training she asked me to do without complaints. I was ready to collapse onto the floor by the time it was almost dinner but she made me, Yoh, and Manta cook for her. After dinner she and Ayumi began to teach me the very basics of the Over Soul Merge and it wasn't until it was eight thirty I was allowed to leave. Thus began my shaman training...

Yoh and I were running together in the roaring heat as the afternoon sun beat down on us. Manta was riding his bicycle behind us and the spirit and Ayumi were next to me. A week has passed since the first day I started my training. It wasn't exactly easy to deal with training and my summer vocational classes but it was a decision that I had decided to make and I wasn't going to back out. At the moment though, I was fighting not to collapse. I knew exactly what Yoh felt like now.

I had on a purple tank top, black sweat pants, and sneakers that I changed into when I made it to Yoh's house. My hair was up in the high ponytail to keep it off of my neck. Manta wore his usual school uniform. Yoh had his hair up in a high ponytail with his headphones still on top of his head. He had on a white t-shirt, navy blue sweat pants, and his usual sandals.

We approached a bench on our training route and Yoh and I stopped at it and used it to lean on while panting in exhaustion.

"Let's stop for a bit... Let me take a break, just a little one..." Yoh said while panting.

"Y-Yeah... I can't run anymore." I said while also panting.

"Don't give up, Lord Yoh! You're already half done!" Amidamaru said as he appeared next to Manta.

"Yeah. You can do it." Ayumi said encouragingly.

"You mean I have half left?! Ah! If tears are the perspiration of the heart then perspiration is the tears of the body." Yoh said with a tired expression on his face as he and I sat down on the bench to rest.

"I haven't heard that one before." I said in amusement.

"Although, it's amazing that you've kept up this long and the same goes for you (Name). Yoh collapsed after just a week of her training." Manta said while still on his bicycle in front of us.

"I do feel like collapsing. It's been hard to deal with summer vocational classes and Anna's training. All I want to do is sleep." I muttered as Yoh let out a tired sigh.

"Those weights keep on getting heavier."

"As of late, my food has been tasting great." Yoh said.

All of us looked at him in confusion.

"Huh?" Manta said.

"In other words, it's like working out in order to eat tasty meals." Yoh said before he started laughing.

"That's... Isn't it tough?"

Yoh smiled and closed his eyes as he put his right hand behind his head.

"Well, if I train, fighting will be easier for me and Amidamaru. Plus, if I think it's fun it'll be fun."

"Lord Yoh..." Amidamaru said with a small smile on his lips as he looked at him affectionately.

A small smile appeared on my lips as I chuckled and shook my head.

This guy really is something.

Yoh stretched out his arms and legs and then jumped up onto his feet as he held his stomach.

"At this rate, I'll be able to eat 5 bowls of rice easily."

I chuckled again as I stood up and nodded my head in agreement.

"His stomach certainly seems well enough." Manta said.

"Let's go." I said before we all started to head further down our training route.

Just as we started to get a good pace again Manta yelled out from behind us causing Yoh and I to stop running. When all of us looked back at him we saw he had stopped in front of a bulletin board.

"Li Pailong?!" Manta shouted.

We walked back over to him and stared at the movie poster in confusion.

"What's a Li Pailong?" Yoh asked.

"You don't know?!" Manta asked in disbelief as he looked back at us.

I felt a whirlwind of emotions go through the spirit but the most prominent ones were longing and sadness. Why would he react like that just because of a movie poster?

Yoh, Amidamaru, Ayumi, and I spoke while we nodded our heads.

"Nope."

Manta stood on top of the seat of his bicycle with a proud look on his face.

"Li Pailong is, in the history of movies, no, in the history of the human world an action star from 17 years ago that will be renowned forever!"

"Aku-shon star? Is he a bad guy?" Amidamaru asked skeptically.

"No! Li Pailong is a kung fu hero who fights alone against evil with his body alone! He has a super human body, so he can perform super actions! His strength booms all over the world! He is famous historically!"

"If it was 17 years ago, I wasn't even born yet." Yoh said.

"Same here." I said.

"This is after I died so..." Amidamaru said.

"Same." Ayumi said.

"You should watch this movie! It will change the way you think!" Manta said excitedly as he flapped his arms up and down.

Yoh looked up at the sky and spoke after a few moments.

"Nah. Also, I don't have Anna's permission." Yoh said before he started to run again.

"I'm not really into this kind of film." I said before I followed after him as Amidamaru disappeared.

"Wait! Fist of Anger is one of his best titles!" Manta shouted as he followed us on his bicycle.

When we were forced to stop at a train crossing Manta looked at Yoh and I as we jogged in place and spoke.

"Li Pailong once said, "In a battle of strength, the person himself, as well as the opponent, will be hurt.""

After that the rails went up and we continued further down our route as he continued to speak.

"As he said, recoil occurs on extreme force. When the limit of one's power is reached, he will be destroyed. It's like... "The Wildness of Flowing Water", known by many. "Thick tree branches can be broken easily, but thin and flexible small tree branches won't be broken." Li Pailong mocks his opponent with feints and various kicking skills. And then, he gives his final blow when he spots an opening! How is it? Think it will be helpful in a Shaman Fight?" Manta asked with a bright smile.

"Shaman Fights are different from martial arts." Yoh said.

"That's true..." Manta said disheartened.

Yoh and I stopped running forward and looked back at him the second we noticed his change of attitude.

"You... Why do you want us to watch Li Pailong's movie so much?" Yoh asked as Manta stopped pedaling his bicycle.

He was quiet for a few moments before he looked down at the ground.

"Yoh and (Name)... I want Yoh and (Name) to know... The things I like... I want you to know them."

A light blush appeared on my cheeks before a small smile appeared on my lips as warmth filled my chest. It made me happy that he thought that.

"I see." Yoh said with a smile.

Manta looked up at us as we smiled at him and then nodded his head with a smile on his face.

The rest of the way to Yoh's house Manta continued to talk about Li Pailong with enthusiasm.

"The great thing about Li Pailong is that strength is not only within fictional stories, but is in movies as well!"

We made it back to the house and prepared some food before we were able to eat it. Anna was already in the living room watching television as we sat down at the small round table on the pillows on the floor. Manta continued to talk excitedly about Li Pailong throughout the entire meal while Anna ignored us.

"He mixed up martial arts from across the world, and created his own Kung fu, Daodandao!" Manta said excitedly as he stood back up.

"Daodandao?" Yoh and I asked.

"Yeah, it's called the most powerful martial art in the world. It's a one hit sure-kill fighting art! Known as Daodan in China, in other words, it possesses the destructive power of missiles!"

"Huh?" Yoh and I asked in amazement.

"No. I won't give you any money to watch movies." Anna said without hesitation.

"Eh?!" all of us said as we looked over at her.

"Any problems?" Anna asked as she dared us to go against her.

We stopped moving as we tensed up before we decided that we weren't going to say anything else as Yoh and I started to eat again.

"Even so, Daodandao's true objective isn't to defeat the enemy." Manta said with a smile as he tried to not be discouraged by her attitude.

"Meaning?" Yoh asked.

"Li Pailong's goal was to understand himself through martial arts and to find the greatest thing in the world."

"You certainly know a lot." Yoh said as Manta smiled proudly.

"It's common sense, common sense."

"What are you talking about? Since he's weak, without realizing it, he admires strong people." Anna said bluntly.

Manta's mouth fell open and he looked at her in disbelief.

"Admiration is something that gets stronger the more far fetched it is." Anna said.

That seemed to be the nail in the coffin. Manta became depressed and went over to the corner of the room and sat in it with his back to us.

"Hey, if you get discouraged from just that, you won't be able to keep up..." Yoh said with a weak smile.

"Far fetched... Yeah, Li Pailong is definitely way beyond my level... 17 years ago, before he completed Daodandao, he died mysteriously." Manta said as he turned his head to the side to look down at the floor.

"He's dead?" Yoh asked as Manta stood up and walked back over to us.

"Also, the body disappeared during the funeral. It's been a mystery until even now."

"What?" I asked with wide eyes.

"A dead body disappeared?" Anna asked with a little interest as I felt the spirit become a little nervous for some reason.

"Thanks for the meal!" Yoh and I said as we put our hands together in thanks.

"Anna, it'll be okay, right? Since (Name) and Yoh are training hard everyday, letting them take a break once in a while..." Manta said pleadingly.

Anna wordlessly stood up but didn't look at him.

"Anna!" Manta said pleadingly again.

"I'll go too." she said.

Manta made a sound of surprise before Anna looked back at him.

"What?" she asked.

"No, it's nothing..." Manta said nervously.

"Then shall we all go check it out? Li Pailong's strength." Yoh asked with a grin.

"I want to go too." Amidamaru said as he appeared with a smile on his lips.

"I want to as well. I'm curious about this Li Pailong." Ayumi said with a smile also on her lips.

I took a bath to get the sweat off of my body and changed back into my school uniform before Yoh also took a bath. When he was done he came out in his cream colored long sleeved top that was open and had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, green pants, a brown belt, his bear claw necklace, and his headphones on his head.

Once we were ready all of us headed to the small movie theater where the movie was being played. While we were watching it Yoh kept making sounds of amazement especially during the fighting scenes.

"Amazing!" Yoh suddenly shouted as he stood up.

"Shut up." Anna said annoyed as she punched him in the face.

When the movie was over we all walked out of the building as Yoh stretched his arms over his head and sighed.

"Li Pailong is really great!" Yoh said with a grin.

"Isn't he?!" Manta said.

"Yeah, he was so cool!"

"Going into the enemy's base all by himself..."

""Don't make me laugh! Taste my fury!"" Yoh and Manta yelled out before they made some martial arts moves.

I couldn't stop myself from laughing at their antics.

"Simpletons." Anna said bluntly.

"I was touched too. This movie thing, it was the first time I've seen one, but it was truly great." Amidamaru said impressed.

"It's impressive how much things have progressed since I've died. It was definitely an interesting experience." Ayumi said excitedly.

Yoh began to walk down the street as he continued to speak excitedly with his eyes closed.

"The wildness of flowing water... Such a cool thing to say."

He bumped into someone and fell to the ground. My eyes widened in surprise and alarm when I looked at the man. It was a Jiang Shi.

"What the..." Yoh said with a little pain.

"Uh oh..." I said to myself as I stared at it.

"Yoh!" Manta shouted in alarm.

"Lord Yoh! We've seen this guy before!" Amidamaru said as he came to his side while holding the handle of his sword.

A large group of them came out from the alleyways between the buildings before they stood in front of us along with the one that Yoh ran into.

Each one wore a black sleeveless top with orange edging and a high collar, black round hats on their heads with orange edging, black kung fu pants, a white piece of cloth that hung down from their waist and ended at their knees, and black flats. They had a sharp claw weapon that was strapped to their left arm and a piece of paper which hung down over their faces.

"T-That's a lot." I said tensely as the spirit became extremely nervous.

"Who is this guy?" Ayumi asked me.

"Jiang Shi." Anna said.

"Yeah, they're moving corpse puppets! Jiang Shi!" Manta shouted in alarm.

"They were probably sent by the Tao family." I said.

"What?" Anna asked as she looked at me in surprise.

"You mean he was sent by Ren?!" Ayumi shouted.

"That's right." I said with a nod.

"Really?!" Manta shouted at me with wide eyes.

"Yeah. His sister and mother can control corpses."

The spirit said something to the others and they looked over at him in confusion.

"Of course I'll protect her." Ayumi said to him.

He said something else and Yoh spoke.

"Yeah. I will. Where are you going?"

Everyone looked at him in confusion as the spirit distanced himself from us but I felt like he was still nearby.

"What's going on?" I asked in confusion.

"He said that he can't be around here. He's going to hide until everything is settled and has left your protection in my hands." Ayumi said.

I looked at her in confusion and hesitantly nodded my head. That's odd for him. Normally he tries to stay with me when we're in danger. Why is he trying to hide?

"You guys, stay away." Yoh said.

He walked over to the side of the theater and grabbed one of the many metal poles that were there. The Jiang Shi started to move and jumped up high into the air as they launched their attack.

"Yoh! Be careful!" I shouted.

"Amidamaru! Spirit Ball Mode! Over Soul Merge!" Yoh shouted as Amidamaru turned into a blue spirit ball and he shoved him inside of his chest.

"There are too many of them!" Manta shouted fearfully.

"It's all right." Anna said confidently.

Yoh managed to completely annihilate every single one of the Jiang Shi in one fell swoop before they could attack him and they all turned into dust as he stood up straight. He turned around and walked back over to us with a grin on his face as he continued to hold the pole in his right hand.

"I think I'm getting pretty good." Yoh said.

Amidamaru appeared behind him again and spoke.

"I feel stronger and even more comfortable while we're united!"

"It wasn't only that food tasted better, after all this training."

All of us heard clapping behind Yoh and we all looked over at the person in confusion as they stood further down the street. We couldn't clearly see who it was since it was dark outside and they weren't underneath the street light in front of them.

"It was great, Yoh Asakura." a woman said.

"Huh?" Yoh and I said in confusion.

"Not being able to hold you off with that many Jiang Shi... I apologize for underestimating you."

"Who are you?" Yoh asked as I started to become nervous.

"My name is, Jun Tao." she said as she walked into the light to reveal herself.

Pain shot through my heart as I stared at her. This was Ling's fiancée...

She was definitely gorgeous. She was a tall, slim, curvaceous woman. Her outfit was a black sleeveless Cheongsam that reached down to the middle of her shins. It had green edging, a green dragon that wrapped around the skirt until it reached her hips, and a panda face over her chest. There was a high slit which went up to her left hip and a diamond shaped hole over her chest. She also had on black flats. The back of her long green hair was held up by three large clips and pointed straight up into the air in three spikes. It reminded me of the spike Ren had. She had thick bangs that went across her forehead and large sections of loose hair that hung down in front of her ears to frame her face. Her eyes were the same blue color as the person who attacked us with their Jiang Shi a week ago. I knew because of the color of her hair and her eyes that she was more than likely the same person.

"Jun Tao..." Yoh said in surprise.

"Tao? Then..." Manta said.

"I'm Ren's big sister."

"Are you a shaman also?" Anna asked.

"Yeah. I'm a Daoshi."

"Daoshi?" Yoh asked.

"I think Daoshi are shamans who can control Jiang Shi with mere commands. With words written on a charm, it's possible to program Jiang Shi with multiple commands." Manta said.

"Yeah. Daoshi are a part of the shaman bloodline that has descended down amongst our mighty kingdom. I came here because I have a favor to ask you." Jun said.

"Favor?" Yoh asked.

"For my lovely little brother, Ren, could I take your samurai that Amidamaru?"

"Even if you asked nicely, I couldn't just say "Oh, is that all?"." Yoh said.

"It would be to your own advantage to give it up nicely." Jun said.

"It?" I asked quietly as she took out eight charms from the lace garter that was around her left leg.

So she really was under the same assumption that Ren was. She also thought that spirits were just tools to use. It doesn't surprise me considering who she is. Ling told me that she would.

"Now, come out, my warrior, Li Pailong!" Jun shouted.

"Li Pailong?" Yoh asked in shock.

"No way..." I said in disbelief as a bad feeling came to my stomach.

The ground behind us suddenly crumbled and we immediately turned around to see what was happening. At the same time I felt the spirits nervousness sky rocket as all of us stared at the figure that was coming up from underneath the road.

"She couldn't mean...?" Yoh said.

"That's...!" Manta said in shock and horror.

The man stood in front of us with a charm covering his face just like the other Jiang Shi but he was different. When the charm blew upwards due to the wind it revealed his face. He was the exact replica of Li Pailong who mysteriously died 17 years ago.

He had short unkept black hair and black eyes. Compared to everyone here, except Amidamaru, he was also extremely tall. His outfit was a black sleeveless shirt with a high collar that had green edging, black kung fu pants, a black tall round hat that had a charm attached to it, Nunchaku on his back with the chain in front of his neck, a green cloth that hung from his waist and went down to his knees, and black flats.

"Li Pailong!" Manta and I shouted in horror.

Li Pailong jumped over us and landed behind Jun before he stood behind her with his arms straight out in front of him.

"You should fully understand his strength by now, after that movie." Jun said.

"Li Pailong's Jiang Shi..." Yoh said in disbelief.

"No way... That's..." Manta said as his body shook.

"That's correct. Li Pailong is my main spirit, the strongest of the Tao family's possessions, the ultimate corpse weapon!" Jun said with a confident smile on her lips.

"Possession?! Weapon?!" Manta asked sounding heartbroken.

"You can't be serious! Li Pailong isn't just a possession or a weapon! He's a spirit that has the same feelings and emotions we have! He was once a living person who was just like you and me!" I shouted.

"What nonsense. Is that the kind of garbage you told Lan as well?" she asked as she glared at me.

"W-What?" I asked in surprise taken off guard by the hatred in her eyes and the sudden mention of Ling.

"I know who you are. Ren told me everything that happened. You're the friend that started to put useless garbage into Lan's head causing him to eventually meet his end."

I just looked at her in shock and astonishment from her harsh words as pain shot through my heart.

"Then as if that wasn't enough, you had enough nerve to hurt my little brother Ren. After I'm finished obtaining his samurai, I'll kill you just like you killed Lan." she said as she looked at me with cold eyes.

"I... I didn't kill Ling." I whispered as the image of his lifeless body appeared in my mind.

Even though I said that, I couldn't stop myself from believing her words. I knew for a fact that he ended up dying because he was protecting me. The way his lifeless body was positioned when I woke up that day proved that much to me. His dead body was holding me in its arms even though he had a large gaping hole in his chest. It was a memory that still haunted me and one that I tried to lock away as best as I could.

I quickly pushed the memory out of my mind and focused on Jun and Li Pailong. I've managed to keep it out of my mind this long and I wasn't planning on thinking about it now! I couldn't think about it now! I'm over it! I'm over it!

"Now, before I let Li Pailong move, hand over your samurai." Jun said.

"No." Yoh said calmly.

A glare appeared on her face as she looked at him.

"You don't want that, right Amidamaru." Yoh asked as Amidamaru appeared next to him again.

"Of course not." he said with his arms crossed over his chest.

"So you intend to stand in Ren's way until the end?" Jun asked.

"No, Amidamaru is my friend. That's why I can't trade him off like an item." Yoh said.

"Friend..."

"Yeah."

"What a stupid excuse." she said after a few moments.

"It's true!"

"It seems I have no choice but to kill you. Combat seal! Equip!" Jun shouted.

She threw her charm and it went over the one Pailong already had hanging over his face and his eyes glowed white before he started to move.

"Pailong, teach that kid a lesson!" Jun shouted as she extended her right arm to the side.

Pailong took a fighting stance and then charged at Yoh.

"Amidamaru!" Yoh shouted.

"I know! Target the charm!" Amidamaru said.

Yoh and Amidamaru prepared to attack him with their pole.

"Too weak!" Jun shouted.

Pailong managed to hit him with his Nunchaku and Yoh yelled out in pain as he was sent flying backwards and landed on the ground in front of us with a loud thud.

No way! This guy is nothing like the others! He managed to attack Yoh before he could even reach him!

"Yoh! That is Li Pailong's specialty, Nunchaku!" Manta shouted in alarm.

Pailong rapidly swung his Nunchaku around as Yoh sat up.

"Could it really be Li Pailong himself?!" Manta asked with pain, worry, and horror in his voice.

"Of course, we Daoshi control our main spirits within the spirit's own body while we manipulate them." Jun said with a composed smile.

"Since it's their body to begin with they can always maintain 100 percent Spirit Fusion." Anna said seriously.

"That is correct. In other words, the ability of the Jiang Shi is the same as that of a living Li Pailong."

"That's..." Manta said before he looked down to the ground in pain.

Yoh stood back up and then charged at Pailong. He let out a small yell as he jumped up into the air and held his pole with both of his hands as he raised his arms over his head. Pailong managed to wrap his Nunchaku around Yoh's pole and pulled it out of his hands before he could get an attack in.

"Damn!" Yoh said as my eyes widened in alarm.

"Yoh!" I shouted.

"My Pailong's unstoppable power!" Jun said.

She widened her stance and brought her right arm out to the side while holding a charm between the pointer and middle fingers of her right hand.

"With that body feel the pain!" Jun shouted as she brought her right arm across her chest and moved the other arm straight out in front of her with her left pointer and middle finger pointed up.

Pailong punched Yoh in the stomach and knocked the air out of him. After that Yoh's body hung limply over Pailong's fist as his pole fell to the ground.

"Yoh!" Manta shouted in alarm.

This is completely one sided! Yoh and Amidamaru can't seem to do anything against him! He always seems to attack them before they can get close enough to attack the charm!

"Resistance is futile. You can't win again me." Jun said as she walked over to him and Pailong.

After that she brought her mouth over to his ear and spoke.

"Now, hand over that samurai." Jun said with a confident expression on her face.

"Like I said, giving and taking cannot be done that easily!" Yoh said with pain in his voice.

A frown appeared on her lips for a moment before she smirked as she closed her eyes and stood up straight.

"I see you... So you don't mind being killed, right?"

She bit into her left thumb and then began to draw on one of her charms with the blood that came from the wound.

"Then I will do this. Pailong! Attack this kid until he dies!" she shouted before she threw the charm and it went over the one he had previously.

Pailong used the arm that Yoh was hanging over to launch him up high into the air as my eyes widened in alarm. Manta yelled out in alarm before Pailong jumped up into the air and launched another attack.

"Yoh!" I yelled out.

"Honja Kyaku!" Pailong shouted as he sent a flying kick into Yoh's stomach causing him to make a strangled sound of pain.

"You're weak!" Jun said as Yoh's body fell towards the ground.

"Zoujidaodan Kyaku." Pailong shouted as he kicked Yoh in the stomach with a downwards kick and sent him flying towards the ground.

Yoh yelled out in pain before he slammed into the ground and yelled out in pain again when he bounced off of it once due to the force of the impact. He made another sound of pain as he fell back onto the ground with a loud thud. Pailong landed in front of Jun with his arms straight out in front of him like a zombie. There was pain on Yoh's face as he slowly rolled over and managed to get back up onto his feet.

"This guy's really strong..." Yoh said as he struggled to stay on his feet.

My eyes widened in alarm again as he fell to the ground on his side facing us.

"Yoh!" Manta shouted as he ran over to him.

Yoh didn't say anything as his eyes remained shut and his mouth hung open while Manta grabbed a hold of his shirt.

"Are you alright? Open your eyes!" Manta shouted as he shook him.

"It's no use. No human can stand after being attacked by my Pailong." Jun said as she took a few steps forward.

There was a smile on her face that didn't match the situation.

"Step aside. I'll remove the samurai's spirit from that kid." she said to him.

"I won't let you!" I said as I ran forward to stand in front of Yoh protectively.

"(Name)!" Ayumi shouted tensely.

"What can you do? You can't even do a proper Over Soul Merge with a spirit let alone withstand my Pailong's attacks." Jun said in amusement.

"I don't care! I'm not going to let you kill Yoh or take away Amidamaru! They're important friends to me! I'll do anything that I can to stop this!" I shouted.

"It's useless."

"Why?! Li Pailong was supposed to be a guardian of justice! My...! He was my idol...! How could you do such a cruel thing?!" Manta asked with sadness as tears gathered in his eyes causing me to look at him sympathetically.

"What are you talking about?" Jun asked with a frown.

"Even if he's dead, Li Pailong is still Li Pailong!"

"Manta..." I said softly.

Anna walked over to him and stood next to him before she spoke.

"Li Pailong isn't the one at fault here. Even if it's his own body, he's still a Jiang Shi. The fact that he's being manipulated doesn't change anything. That's why the bad one is the girl who's manipulating him."

"Then... Then Pailong is... Ignoring his own will." Manta said as his unshed tears disappeared.

"A shaman is someone who controls spirits. The spirit's will is meaningless. In our Tao family, to become a great shaman we receive our main spirits when we are children. Ever since I was born 17 years ago, Li Pailong has been under my command."

"What?" I whispered in shock.

"17 years... Could it be?" Manta asked in disbelief.

"Yes. Li Pailong is the best present ever given to me by my father." Jun said with a cold smile on her face as my blood ran cold.

They killed him just so he could become her Jiang Shi...?

Manta fell to his hands and knees as tears fell from his eyes.

"How could that be...? That's too much. The Pailong I used to admire was killed for this... I can't believe this." Manta said with pain in his voice.

"Don't you care at all about another person's life or are you so surrounded by death that you don't even flinch when you see someone else die?! What about Ling?! Did you not care when he died?!" I shouted at her harshly as I lost my temper.

"Shut up!" she shouted at me with a hint of anger in her voice.

"All lives are important! To just take them away as if they were nothing without even thinking about the consequences... It's not right! Those people had hopes, dreams, and ambitions! How can you just take that all way from them and then have enough nerve to call them a tool and use them when you're done killing them?! They aren't just tools! They have feelings! They have dreams just like they did when they were alive! They feel happiness, sadness, fear, pain, and every other emotion we feel!" I shouted as my body shook and tears gathered in my eyes.

I envisioned Ling and Pailong who were both so full of life but refused to let my tears fall down my face. How could they just kill him like this?! How could they use him like this?! Would Ling simply be a tool for them to use as well if he was still around?! Would his existence in their lives be completely meaningless now?!

"You're so stupid for crying. No matter how much emotion you show, Jiang Shi don't have feelings." she said as she closed her eyes and frowned.

"That's not true!" Yoh said.

Jun's eyes opened and she looked at him in shock as her mouth fell open in disbelief. I turned my head and looked back at him as he sat up and smiled in relief since he was okay.

"Spirits aren't things! It's the feeling itself. There is no spirit without feelings!" Yoh said seriously.

"Yoh!" Manta said.

Yoh looked over at him with a grin and spoke.

"I'm pretty tough." he said before he laughed weakly.

"Yoh..." Manta said happily.

"Impossible! There shouldn't be anyone who can take Li Pailong's attacks and still stand!" Jun said in disbelief.

"Of course it hurt. But even so, to me and Amidamaru, attacks with any hesitation won't work." Yoh said as he slowly stood up with his pole in his right hand.

"Hesitation, you say?" Jun asked.

"That's right. No matter how much you may control his body with the charm, you can't control his heart! Isn't that right? Li Pailong?" Yoh asked as he looked at Pailong.

I looked back over at Li Pailong and my eyes widened in surprise when tears began to stream down his cheeks. Manta made a sound of surprise as Jun looked over at Pailong tensely.

"Impossible! For a frozen corpse to have feelings...!" Jun said.

Her eyes widened in shock before she looked over at me and Yoh in thought.

"That can't be! Pailong! He's not dead yet. Hurry up and finish him and then finish her off!" Jun ordered.

Pailong didn't move and stood there with tears still streaming down his cheeks.

"(Name), you should probably move." Yoh said seriously.

"R-Right." I said before I ran behind him in order to stand next to Anna, Manta, and Ayumi again.

"What are you doing?! Well!" Jun shouted.

Pailong tried to resist the charm that was commanding him as his right arm bent up and he slowly reached for his Nunchaku.

"Well!" Jun shouted again.

He eventually grabbed onto it as he let out a yell and then charged forward with tears still streaming down his cheeks. Manta let out a yell of alarm.

"Just wait, Li Pailong! I'll take off that charm and set your soul free!" Yoh declared before Pailong's Nunchaku wrapped around his left arm.

"That's foolish. It's impossible to win against Li Pailong. Don't you get that by now?!" Jun asked.

"Of course I don't! I'll try until the very end!" Yoh shouted.

He jumped up into the air as he aimed an attack at the charm but Pailong managed to knee him in the face before he could hit it. Yoh let out a yell of pain as he was thrown backwards and crashed down onto the ground while Manta made a sound of alarm.

"That's why I said it was impossible. To my Li Pailong, an attack in that range is definite. Pailong, show him the way to death." she said as she took a few steps forward to stand next to Pailong.

Pailong didn't move as he hesitated to attack Yoh again.

"Pailong!" Jun shouted again.

Pailong slowly walked towards him as Yoh struggled to get back up onto his feet. Yoh made a sound of surprise and quickly lifted his metal pole over his head to defend himself as Pailong swung his Nunchaku at him over and over again.

"Anna, lend some power to Yoh!" Manta said with worry in his voice.

"I was never planning to help him." Anna said calmly.

He made a sound of disbelief as he and I looked over at her.

"That's because, this is just another trial Yoh has to face to become Shaman King. If he loses to an opponent like this, he can never be one. I don't want to become the wife of a man who doesn't even have a chance of success in the future!"

"What?! What kind of woman are you?!" Manta shouted with a hint of anger in his voice.

"Shut up! Women are realistic." she said annoyed.

After that a calm expression appeared on her face and she continued to speak.

"Even so, I think Yoh can be one. That's why I'm here."

I could tell that she truly believed in his ability to win this fight. There was no doubt on her face or in her eyes. If she didn't think that he could do it then I don't think that she would hesitate to step in if needed. I could tell by the way she acts around him that she cares about him even if she doesn't express it that well and I think Yoh feels the same.

Yoh let out a yell of pain and I looked back over at him along with Manta. His pole flew up into the air as he fell back onto the ground at our feet.

"Yoh!" Manta shouted.

"My apologies, Lord Yoh, if only... if only I had something resembling a real katana I might be able to do something." Amidamaru said.

"Something resembling a katana?" Yoh asked.

"What do you mean?" Manta asked.

"If I had a katana with a grip handle I could destroy that absolute defense of his and attack from outside his attack range to slash off that troublesome charm." Amidamaru said tensely.

"From outside his attack range?" Yoh asked.

"A katana with a grip handle." Manta said in thought.

In other words if he had some sort of sword he would be able to win this fight? Where could we get one? The only person I know that has a sword is Ryu but I have no idea where he would be. I doubt that there's a place open for me to purchase a wooden sword this time of night.

Pailong and Jun walked over and stood in front of us.

"You are a shameful samurai for blaming your lack of skill on a katana." Jun said with a confident smile on her lips and her arms crossed over her chest.

She looked down at Manta with a serious expression on her face.

"If you don't want to get involved get out of here." Jun said to him causing me to look at her in surprise.

She's giving him the chance to run?

"This time, she's getting serious?!" Manta said as he took a step back in fear.

"Hurry up!" Jun said.

Manta didn't say anything for a few moments as he looked at her in fear before he turned around and ran away as he screamed.

"Manta!" Yoh and I shouted.

"He's a smart friend."

"Manta..." Yoh said.

Manta wouldn't really abandon Yoh would he? After everything we've been through would he really leave Yoh to save himself?

"I can't play around with you any more. I'll finish this now." Jun said seriously.

"Damn it!" I shouted.

I have to do something!

"I'll follow him Yoh! Just try not to get killed until we get back! Ayumi come with me!" I said tensely before I ran after him.

"Do you really think that I'll let you escape? Pailong stop her!" Jun shouted.

Pailong suddenly appeared in front of me and stopped me in my tracks. My eyes widened in alarm as he aimed an attack at me.

"(Name)!" Yoh shouted.

He quickly ran in front of me and blocked his attack.

"Y-Yoh!" I said with wide eyes.

"Go! Run while you still can!" he shouted.

"Yeah! I'll be back, Yoh! Don't die on me before I can get back!" I shouted.

I quickly ran around him and Pailong and when I turned my head back to see if he was trying to follow me Yoh managed to prevent him from doing so. When I knew that he wouldn't follow me I turned my head and looked forward as I ran in the direction Manta went. The spirit followed after me and I felt his presence come up next to me but I could tell that he was extremely worried about what was happening. I didn't really have a chance to question him about his strange behavior as I looked around for Manta.

"Where the hell is he?" I asked tensely.

I felt like I had been running forever since I knew that if I didn't get back soon Yoh would end up being killed. If I didn't find Manta in the next few minutes I was going to have to ditch him and find a sword on my own so I could hurry and save Yoh and Amidamaru. After that a thought occurred to me and I stopped running as I looked over at Ayumi.

"Ayumi, can you go search for Manta for me? You can find him and I'll go find a sword for Yoh to use. Hopefully I can find Ryu in Funbari Cemetery!" I said.

"Yes!" she said before she flew up into the air.

I ran towards Funbari Cemetery as fast as I could with the spirit next to me. It was the only place I could think of that Ryu and his gang would be. That's where I always seemed to find him. It would be nice if my gut feeling would kick in right now! Why couldn't it just lead me to him like it loves to lead me into danger?!

A chill ran down my spine causing my eyes to widen as I instinctively stopped running forward. An axe suddenly flew in front of me and planted itself into the brick wall on my right where I would have been if I wouldn't have suddenly stopped. I tensed up as I looked at it before the spirit suddenly threw a strong gust of wind at me from behind and my feet left the ground as I flew forward. My body crashed down onto the ground as I landed on my stomach and a grunt of pain escaped my lips.

"Ow..." I said as I slowly pushed myself up onto my hands and knees.

If it was normal circumstances I would have yelled at the spirit but I knew that someone was attacking me. There was fear and worry coursing through him as well as anger. Something wasn't right. I felt like I was in extreme danger, more so than usual.

"Impressive. You're both pretty quick on your feet." I heard a man with a cold voice say from my left.

Another chill ran down my spine before I stood up and looked over at him.

There was a man with short messy black hair and brown eyes who was Ryu's height. He had a sadistic smirk on his lips as he looked at the spot where the spirit was. I couldn't see most of his face due to the black mask that concealed his identity by covering the top half of it. He was wearing a plain black Tangzhuang jacket over a dark blue Tangzhuang shirt, a pair of dark blue loose fitting kung fu pants, and black flats.

As I looked to my left my eyes widened in alarm and I tensed up when I noticed another axe planted into the wall where I had been just moments before. If the spirit wouldn't have pushed me out of the way I would be dead.

"I thought this might get your attention. The second I saw you I recognized you. I'm surprised that you didn't pass on." he said to the spirit.

This dangerous guy knows the spirit?

"Who are you?" I asked tensely.

The man looked over at me and stared at me for a few moments in thought. He looked back and forth between me and the spirit a few times before he made a sound of recognition as his mouth fell open in surprise. He quickly composed himself and a smirk appeared on his lips as he looked at me.

"Well, well, well it looks like we've finally found you."

"W-What?" I asked in confusion as a bad feeling came to my stomach.

"You've caused us a lot of problems over the last 5 years." he said as he took a few steps towards me.

I instinctively took a few steps back until my back touched the wall behind me.

"What are you talking about? Who are you?" I asked tensely.

This guy was giving me an extremely bad feeling.

"I guess I could introduce myself to you before I kill you." he said.

Kill me? Who the hell is this guy? Why does he want to kill me?

"I am Lun Zhao."

"Lun Zhao?" I asked.

"It must be my lucky day. Out of all the other Zhao family members it was me who finally found you. And I even managed to find this guy who shouldn't be here." he said as he took out another hand axe that had been strapped to his belt.

"Zhao? What are you talking about? Why has your family been searching for me? I don't even know who you are!" I shouted with obvious fear in my voice.

Why does the name Zhao sound so familiar? I feel like I've heard that last name from somewhere but I don't know where.

"Are you serious?" he asked as he blinked at me in surprise.

"Yes! I don't know who you are!" I shouted.

He didn't say anything for a few moments and then spoke.

"As a member of the Zhao family I can't afford to take that chance. After I kill you, I'm going to take his spirit and seal it away where no one will ever hear from him again."

"What?" I asked him with wide eyes.

He suddenly charged at me but the spirit immediately came to my aid and created a strong gust of wind to push him back as he protected me.

"What? What is this?" Lun asked in surprise.

The strength of the wind increased ten fold and Lun was thrown back. A yell escaped his lips before he crashed down onto the ground further down the road where he came from. After that the spirit used his wind to push me to the side. I didn't have to be told twice. I started to run away with the spirit next to me. I ran as fast as I could down the street and made a sharp left to run down one of the nearby alleyways in an attempt to try to get away.

My heart was racing inside of chest as I ran forward. I didn't have time for this! I needed to help Yoh and Amidamaru! I've already been gone for far too long!

"Get back here!" Lun shouted.

My eyes widened in alarm and I looked behind me only to see that he was following us.

"Go away! I don't have time to deal with you right now!" I shouted at him.

"As if I'd just do as you want me to! I'm not going to let you out of my sight now that I've found you!" he shouted back.

"I'm busy right now! I don't have time to mess with you! I have other fish to fry!" I shouted at him annoyed.

My luck tonight wasn't very good though. When I turned the corner I ran into a dead end and I was forced to stop running as my eyes widened in alarm.

"Shit!" I shouted.

"I finally have you where I want you." Lun said causing me to quickly turn around to face him as fear coursed through me.

He tried to charge forward but the spirit came to my aid again and threw him back and he crashed down onto the ground again. I tried to run past him to get away but before I could he managed to grab my left ankle causing me to crash onto the ground for the second time tonight.

"Let go of me!" I shouted as I kicked at his hand with my right foot.

When that didn't work I kicked him in the face as hard as I could and he was forced to let go of me.

"Ow!" he shouted at me annoyed.

After that I quickly stood up and ran away from him and headed in the direction I came from. It was too dangerous to run through the alleyways. I couldn't afford to get trapped at another dead end.

"You're getting on my nerves!" Lun shouted angrily from behind me.

Another bad feeling came to my stomach and I looked back at him as he took out a small vase.

"If you're going to get in my way then I'll deal with you first!" he shouted again.

Lun began to chant as the spirit and I made it back to the road and suddenly the spirits presence began to become distant. I stopped running and turned around before I ran towards Lun in order to try to stop him from sealing the spirit away. However, before I could reach him Lun put a lid on the vase and the spirit's presence suddenly disappeared causing me to freeze. He had just sealed him away.

He looked at me with a sadistic smirk on his lips as he placed the vase in his pants pocket. This was the first time in years that I couldn't feel the spirit around me and I didn't like it one bit. It made me feel vulnerable.

I took a step back as he grabbed two of his axes and I was caught between running and trying to obtain the vase. Damn it! I didn't have time for this! Yoh was in trouble!

I tensed up when he charged at me and moved to the side and just barely avoided his axe as he swung at me. He repeatedly swung at me and I was forced to simply dodge his attacks as I backed away to get to the road so I would have more room to move around. After a few minutes we finally made it to the road but he managed to make a round house kick and his foot connected with my right side. A yell of pain came from my lips as my body flew sideways and I crashed down onto the ground with a loud thud.

"Ow..." I said with pain in my voice as I held my side.

I stood back up again and faced him but when I didn't see him a look of confusion appeared on my face.

"This is the end for you!" he shouted from above me.

My eyes widened in alarm as I looked up and I just barely managed to dive to the side to avoid his attack. I crashed down onto the ground again and slid on the cement a little causing my left leg and arm to scrape against it. Blood came from the wounds as I quickly stood back up while ignoring the pain and began to dodge his attacks as best as I could.

I continued to dodge his axes with the exception of a few scratches that he managed to give me but he was able to get quite a few good kicks in since I was more focused on avoiding his weapons. After a little while I was beginning to lose my endurance because of all the wounds and bruises I had sustained during that time. However, instead of thinking about the pain I was in I could only think about Yoh, Manta, and the spirit. I didn't have time for this. Yoh was in trouble, I didn't know where Manta was, and the spirit had been sealed away just like Ayumi was before I released her!

A yell of pain escaped my lips as I dodged another swing from his axes but he managed to slice into my right shoulder. Blood oozed from the wound and I held it in my left hand due to the pain. He took his chance to kick me in the stomach as hard as he could. Another yell of pain escaped my lips as I flew back before I fell to the ground with a loud thud. I held my stomach in pain as I struggled to sit up and he walked over to me to stand in front of me.

"Well that was simple enough. I didn't even have to use any of my shaman abilities to defeat you." he said with a smirk.

"Y-You're a shaman?" I asked in surprise as I looked up at him.

"Of course. My family is one of the most prominent shaman families of all time."

After that he raised his axes high into the air.

"Enough with the chit chat. It's time for you to die. You've been a thorn in our side for far too long!"

A look of horror appeared on my face. I knew that I could do nothing to stop him from killing me.

"Die!" Lun shouted as he swung his axes down towards me.

A scream escaped my lips as fear coursed through me but before he could hit me he yelled out in surprise and pain as a wooden sword hit him in the face. My eyes widened in surprise before I heard the squealing of tires from behind me and the area was illuminated by light. I quickly stood up as I took several steps back in order to get away from Lun while he recovered from the surprise attack and then looked back. Ryu and Manta were on his motorcycle with Ayumi floating next to them.

"Y-You guys!" I said in surprise.

"Where's the spirit?" Manta asked me in confusion when he noticed that he wasn't around.

"This guy sealed him inside of a vase that's in his pocket!" I said as I looked back at Lun.

Lun looked at Ryu with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Don't get in my way again. If you do I will kill you." he said threateningly.

He charged at me again and my eyes widened in alarm. I moved over to the side and avoided his attack as he swung at me but he made another round house kick. His foot collided with my left side and I let out a yell of pain before I flew over to the side and slammed into the brick wall of a building that was next to us.

"(Name)!" Ayumi and Manta shouted in alarm as I fell to the ground onto my right side.

I held my left side in pain as I struggled to get up again. When I looked over at Lun he watched me with a smirk on his face as I slowly stood back up and leaned my back against the wall for support.

I can't die yet! I have to fulfill my promise to Ling! I have to help Yoh, Amidamaru, and the spirit!

"It's finally time for you to die!" Lun shouted as he charged forward to launch his final attack.

"I won't let you kill her!" Ayumi shouted.

My eyes widened in alarm while I looked at him in horror as he raised his axes into the air. A strange and familiar sensation filled my body and I felt myself fall unconscious. Ayumi was starting to take over my body just like when she protected me from Ren...


	11. Chapter 11: Shamon

**A/N:**

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Sorry for making all of you wait so long for this chapter! I hope you like it!

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Shamon**

 _Ling and I were sitting in the park on the grass underneath a tree as the other kids ignored us and played with each other. It was a warm summer's day and we had all the time in the world to be around each other. I had on a purple sundress and sandals and he wore a pair of blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and sneakers._

 _"Jun doesn't like you very much..." Ling said with a smile on his lips as amusement came to his eyes._

 _"What? Why?" I asked him in confusion._

 _How can someone dislike me when I haven't even met them?_

 _"She doesn't like the fact you've changed me so much during the last 3 years. She thinks you're weakening me."_

 _"How am I weakening you?" I said with concern._

 _"You aren't. Actually, you've made me stronger."_

 _"I have?" I asked him in surprise._

 _"Yeah. You have." he said as he looked over at me with a gentle look on his face and a small smile on his lips._

 _"But... How am I supposed to be her friend if she hates me?" I said nervously._

 _The last thing I wanted was to be hated by her. Ling wants me to be her friend..._

 _"It's you. I'm sure that you'll manage it somehow. After all, we're friends aren't we?" he said with a cheeky grin._

 _""It's you"? What's that supposed to mean?" I asked with an extremely perplexed look on my face._

 _"It means that you're stubborn."_

 _"What?! I am not!" I shouted annoyed as I crossed my arms over my chest._

 _He laughed and then spoke with a grin._

 _"You're one of the most stubborn people I know. In fact, you're neck and neck with Ren."_

 _"I don't know how I feel about being compared to a boy who's 3 years younger than I am..." I muttered._

 _"Take it as a complement."_

 _We were silent for a few moments until I saw a thoughtful expression come to his face as he spoke._

 _"Speaking of Ren... He can't seem to get enough of you."_

 _I looked at him in confusion as he continued to speak._

 _"When I tell him stories about you, he seems to be fascinated by you. I've never seen him so interested in something that isn't involved with the Tao family. It's nice to know that he finds you so interesting."_

 _"Why would I interest him?"_

 _"I think he's drawn to you for the same reason I was even though I don't think he realizes it."_

 _"...Why were you drawn to me?" I asked._

 _He looked up at the sky and spoke after a few moments._

 _"You're the gentle light within the darkness that gives us hope and helps guide us down the right path. Even if we want you to disappear because we're afraid to trust in your light and the path you've shown us, you're always shining your light never giving up on us and supporting us as you wait patiently for us to make the decision to walk towards you. To be honest, your light can be blinding at times and yet it's also warm and kind." he said before he looked at me with a gentle expression on his face._

 _"You're weird." I said while giving him a look that said I thought he was strange._

 _He laughed at me and then ruffled my hair._

 _"Hey!" I shouted annoyed before I tried to fix my hair._

 _"Ren said the same thing when I told him that."_

 _After I fixed my hair, he and I sat in silence for a little while as I thought about what he said before I decided to break the silence._

 _"So... If Ren finds me interesting, does that mean it will be easy to become friends with him?"_

 _"I doubt it. He's stubborn. It'll be as tough to make him your friend as it was for you to make me your friend, if not tougher. But, it's you. I know that you can do it. I truly believe that... I'm counting on you to free them. I hope you meet them soon."_

 _"I made a promise, didn't I? I'll free them and become friends with them!" I said with a grin on my face._

 _He looked over at me again with a gentle expression on his face as he placed his hand on top of my head affectionately._

 _"I know you will... No matter what, I believe in you."_

Ling...

I felt someone trying to shake me awake when I finally came to.

"Hey, wake up!" I heard Ryu say with worry in his voice.

When I opened my eyes, I saw Ryu was to my right kneeling on the ground while holding my upper body in his arms as he looked at me with a worried expression on his face. Manta was kneeling down on my left, beaten and bruised, with tears in his eyes as he also looked at me with a worried expression. Ayumi was floating behind him with a look of concern on her face as she looked at me.

"(Name)!" Manta said in relief.

My thoughts immediately went to what happened before Ayumi took over my body and my eyes widened in alarm.

"The spirit!" I shouted as I sat up and looked around for Lun.

"It's fine. Lun's still here." Ayumi said as she tried to calm me down.

I looked directly in front of me and saw he was lying unconscious on the ground a little ways away from us. Despite the exhaustion and pain I felt, I forced myself up onto my feet and walked over to him. When I made it over to his side, I crouched down and reached inside of his pants pocket to take out the jar before I forced it open as I ripped open the seal and the lid. The spirits comforting presence filled the area around me and I let out a sigh of relief when it felt like he hugged me.

My eyes caught sight of Ryu's wooden sword on the ground before I looked at Ryu and spoke urgently.

"Ryu! We need to help Yoh! He's in trouble!"

"Manta already told me about it. I've offered to let him use my sword." Ryu said.

"What are you two doing here then?! You need to go help Yoh!"

"Not without you, we aren't. I don't know who that guy is, but we can't leave you knowing that he could wake up and try to attack you again." Ryu said as he looked at Lun.

"There's only so much room on your motorcycle Ryu."

"Manta's small. I'm sure we can manage it. I refuse to leave you behind with this guy here."

I wasn't really convinced but I knew that we didn't really have time to argue about it.

"Thank you..." I said softly while feeling grateful that he wanted to help me so much.

"Who was that guy?" Manta asked.

"I'll explain later. Right now we need to help Yoh. If we don't hurry he will be killed!" I said seriously.

"Yeah!" Manta said with a nod.

Manta quickly walked over to Ryu's sword and picked it up as I walked over to Ryu's motorcycle. Ryu helped me onto the back of it and then placed Manta behind me.

The second Ryu sat down in front of me, I wrapped my arms around his stomach and then Manta held onto me. My eyes shifted back over to Lun and an unsettling feeling came to the pit of my stomach.

Who was he? Why did he attack me? Why did his last name sound so familiar to me? Where have I heard it before? Why was his family searching for me? How are they related to the incident 5 years ago? Were they the one's who attacked Ling? But, why would they attack Ling? What purpose would they have for it?

Ryu pushed on the gas and quickly drove off towards Yoh's location. So many thoughts were swirling through my mind and I held on tight to Ryu as I put my forehead on his back.

How long have we been here dealing with Lun? Was Yoh still alive? Will he be alive by the time we reach him?

"What were you doing here?" Manta asked.

I lifted my head and looked back at him.

"I didn't want you to abandon Yoh and regret it so I decided to run after you and I wanted to try to find some sort of sword to help him fight since I know that's the only chance he has to get out of this alive."

Guilt coursed through me and I looked away from him and placed my forehead against Ryu's back to hide my face.

"But, instead I ended up holding you guys back... You two already had a sword to give him but because of my fight with Lun you're here instead of with Yoh."

"(Name)..." Manta said softly.

"I...! I don't want him to die! You, Amidamaru, Ayumi, the spirit, Anna, and Yoh are the only friends that I've had in 5 years! I couldn't just sit back and watch knowing that I could do something to help him but instead I...!" I said before I trailed off and gripped the front of Ryu's shirt tightly as I squeezed my eyes shut and fought back tears.

"He won't die. We'll get to him on time." Ryu said reassuringly.

I lifted my head again and looked up at him and saw he was looking at me from over his shoulder with a reassuring look on his face.

"Yeah." Manta said in agreement.

"Don't give up hope (Name)." Ayumi said encouragingly.

I hesitantly nodded my head before Ryu looked back at the road. The only words that were spoken on the way there were Manta giving out directions so we could reach Yoh. Luckily, it only took us a few minutes to get near our intended location and not before too long Ryu turned the corner to get onto the street Yoh was on.

I looked over Ryu's shoulder and saw that Yoh was a little further down the road. Pailong made a round house kick and the back of his foot connected with Yoh's stomach. My eyes widened in alarm as Yoh flew back and slammed into the brick wall of the building behind him. Dust shot up into the air due to the force of the impact and Jun and Pailong stood a little ways in front of him.

"We need to hurry!" I shouted urgently to Ryu as I tightly gripped the front of his shirt with my hands in desperation.

Yoh couldn't die, not with help being so close to him! I wouldn't be able to forgive myself knowing that I had slowed Manta and Ryu down because of my fight with Lun! If we didn't make it in time, it would be all my fault!

Ryu pushed on the gas as Jun and Yoh spoke to each other.

"What good are friends for?" Jun asked after we had finally reached them.

The spirit put some distance between us again as he went into hiding like before and Ryu stepped on the breaks causing the tires to screech to a halt. Manta quickly jumped off of the motorcycle with Ryu's wooden sword in his right hand and stood in front of us as Jun looked over at us.

"Getting rid of you people, for example." Manta declared.

"Didn't you run away?!" Jun shouted in shock as I climbed off of Ryu's motorcycle.

"Of course not. I said that we would be back didn't I? What kind of friends would we be if we abandoned him when he needed us the most?" I asked as I stood next to Manta.

"You're a fool. You should have taken the chance he gave you to run away. Now you'll die by my hands after I kill him and take his samurai." Jun said as she glared at me.

"No you won't. Yoh will win." I said confidently.

After that I looked at Pailong and spoke.

"You hear that Pailong? Yoh and Amidamaru will destroy the seal that binds you and free you from your prison!" I declared as I pointed at him.

Pailong looked over at me and I saw tears stream down his cheeks as Jun stared at him in disbelief once again.

"Impossible." she said as she looked at me with a glare.

Yoh looked at Manta and I with wide eyes as we walked over to him.

"Manta, (Name), those wounds..." Yoh said in surprise as he looked at our condition.

"A katana with a grip... I'm sorry for keeping you waiting." Manta said with a small smile as he extended the handle of Ryu's wooden sword to him.

"So am I." I said to Yoh apologetically.

"Manta, (Name)..." Yoh said with surprise still on his face.

"Yoh is fighting to save my hero. So I wanted to help too because we're friends." Manta said.

"Manta and (Name) fought greatly. Accept the readiness of their hearts." Ryu said while still on his motorcycle.

"Yeah." Yoh said to Ryu as he stood up.

Yoh grabbed the handle of the wooden sword while he looked at Manta and I and then spoke.

"Thank you Manta, (Name)... I appreciate it."

Manta and I smiled at him sheepishly and rubbed the back of our heads. We took a few steps back to get out of the way and I sighed in relief as I spoke.

"I'm glad he's alive."

"So am I." Ayumi said as she stood to my left.

"Of course he's alive." Anna said as she stood next to me on the right.

I looked over at her and smiled as I nodded my head.

"Can we do it, Amidamaru?" Yoh asked as he gripped the handle of the sword with both of his hands and took a fighting stance.

"Of course! After granting my plea, with Lord Manta's and Lady (Name)'s zealous energy, I, Amidamaru, shall respond with my greatest succession technique!" Amidamaru said confidently as he appeared behind him.

"Greatest succession technique? What can you do with that wooden sword?" Jun asked with a confident smile.

After that she looked at Pailong and shouted her next order as she pointed at Yoh.

"Pailong! Destroy that guy's body! Go!"

Pailong ran forward as Yoh looked at him with a serious expression on his face before he also charged forward. Yoh lifted up his sword as Pailong kicked at him and managed to block it.

"He took the kick!" Manta shouted excitedly.

"A-Amazing!" Ryu said.

"His style of movement has completely changed!" Jun said in shock.

"With a katana that has a grip, the wielder's speed changes. That is a samurai!" Yoh and Amidamaru said to Jun as he ran forward.

He turned around to face Pailong once again as Pailong charged towards him.

"Pailong! I shall free your soul now!" Yoh and Amidamaru declared.

Yoh lifted his sword up into the air with his left hand and then pointed it out in front of him as he prepared his attack. He moved the sword and held it horizontally in front of him as he grasped the handle with both of his hands.

"Amida-Style: Vacuum Buddha Slash!" Yoh and Amidamaru shouted as they sliced into the air to hit the charm before Pailong could reach them.

Pailong's charm whipped around wildly for a moment before he stopped moving and we all waited to see what was going to happen.

"It's over." Anna said with a small confident smile.

The charm covering Pailong's face, along with his hat, were sliced in two and fell to the ground as he looked at Yoh with wide eyes. He was finally free after 17 years.

"It's the real Li Pailong!" Ryu said excitedly.

"Pai... long..." Pailong said as he looked around with a dazed look on his face.

Pailong noticed the movie poster inside of the glass case in front of the movie theater and walked over to it. He touched the glass as he stared at the poster.

"That's right... I am Li Pailong."

A look of shock appeared on his face as he read it before he spoke.

"For 17 years?! What have I been doing?"

Anger appeared on his face and I started to get a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach as he continued to speak.

"This is... What's going on?!" he shouted angrily as he aimed a punch at the glass case.

His right fist went through the glass before a look of shock and horror appeared on his face as he slowly pulled his cut up hand out of the case.

"Why? Why don't I feel any pain? Why am I not bleeding?"

He doesn't know he's dead?

"I have a bad feeling about this." I whispered as I clenched my hands into tight fists causing everyone but Jun and Pailong to look over at me.

"It's sad to see you acting like this, Pailong. You're already dead." Jun said while holding another charm in her right hand.

"What?!" Pailong asked in surprise as he looked back at her from over his shoulder.

"A Jiang Shi should act like a Jiang Shi and follow my, Daoshi Jun Tao's, words!"

"Tao..."

A look of shock and recognition appeared on his face and I felt the feeling in the pit of my stomach become worse. The only reason why he would remember the name Tao would be if he knew who killed him.

"He's remembered..." I said as I looked at him in shock.

"Remembered what?" Ayumi asked.

"He's remembered who killed him."

I knew the spirit heard what I said and I felt him become extremely nervous and worried. Jun quickly threw her charm at Pailong in order to regain her control over his body but he caught the charm with his left hand before it could reach his face. A look of shock appeared on Jun's face as she looked at him with disbelief.

"Pailong grabbed the charm!" Manta shouted in surprise.

"W-What's going on?!" Ryu asked.

"He rebelled against his Daoshi." Anna said seriously.

Pailong brought his left arm down to his side and tightly gripped the charm and destroyed it.

"I... I lost everything because of you. My life... My dream... Because of you?!" Pailong shouted in anger.

He suddenly charged at her and my eyes widened in alarm as he took out his Nunchaku and swung it at her as she took a couple steps back.

"Jun!" I shouted in alarm.

She jumped up into the air and avoided his attack before she decided to try to throw another charm at him.

"Take this charm!" she shouted.

Pailong used his speed to reach her before she could throw it and grabbed her wrist causing her to let go of the charm and then threw her towards the ground. She landed on the ground in a crouched position before she looked up in alarm as Pailong aimed a kick at her. I could feel the spirit become even more nervous and worried as she jumped back just in time and Pailong's foot connected with the ground.

"We have to do something!" I shouted as I ran towards Jun with a worried expression on my face while I ignored the pain coursing through my body.

I can't let him kill her! She was important to Ling!

"Yeah." Yoh said in agreement as he followed after me.

"Wait! (Name)!" Ayumi shouted in alarm as the spirits nervousness and worry skyrocketed.

Jun landed on the ground a little ways from Pailong in a crouched position but he was already launching his next attack and I knew she wouldn't be able to dodge it. I was able to reach her just in time and quickly stood in front of her protectively as Yoh stood in front of me and blocked his attack with his sword. Pailong's Nunchaku wrapped around Yoh's sword and I heard Jun make a sound of surprise.

"You... save me?" she asked.

"You...! What are you doing?!" Pailong shouted at us angrily.

"Stop it Pailong! It won't do you any good to take revenge on her." I said.

"Hey, Pailong... How does revenge feel? Fun? That can't be, right?" Yoh asked.

"Even if you had your revenge, it won't bring what you've lost back. Nothing will change. You still won't be alive." I said gently causing Pailong to look over at me while I looked him in the eye.

"Yeah. So, let's think of ways you can spend your time more enjoyably." Yoh said.

"Shut up!" Pailong shouted out in fury before he broke Yoh's wooden sword in half.

"Yoh!" Manta shouted in alarm.

Pailong let out a yell of fury and rapidly swung his Nunchaku at him over and over again as Yoh used the two pieces of the wooden sword to defend himself.

"My wooden sword!" Ryu shouted in despair.

"Pailong, stop it! You'll only end up becoming a murderer! Is that what you want?! Is that what you wanted to end up becoming after working so hard while you were alive?! What about your dream?! Is murder really what you wanted to achieve?! There are so many people that still look up to you because of what you stood for! You gave them hope and courage! To them you're a champion of justice! Can you really just throw all of that away?! Do you really want to end up becoming like the person who took your life away?! You'll regret it!" I shouted desperately.

"Shut up!" Pailong shouted angrily as he glared at me.

He suddenly jumped over Yoh and landed in front of me in order to attack me so he could take his anger out on me due to my words and also because I was standing in front of Jun to protect her. My eyes widened in alarm before his right foot connected with my stomach and my body flew back into the wall behind me and Jun. A yell escaped my lips as I crashed into it and even more pain coursed through my body.

"(Name)!" Manta and Ayumi shouted in alarm.

My body didn't even have the chance to recover before he launched a series of punches into my stomach causing my eyes to widen as I yelled out in agony after each punch. Pailong grabbed my right wrist and forced me away from the wall before he kicked my left side. I flew to the side before I crashed down onto the ground and rolled on it a few times until I came to a stop. I could see white stars in my vision.

How could Yoh have lasted so long against this? Pailong's attacks are too powerful.

I slowly pushed myself up onto my hands and knees as I heard Pailong let out another yell. When I looked over at him, my eyes widened in alarm as he launched another attack at Jun who was currently unprotected.

Even though my body was in extreme pain, I forced myself back up onto my feet and ran forward in order to block the attack with my body as Jun tightly closed her eyes and prepared for him to hit her. Luckily, I was able to get between them and his fist connected with my stomach. It was strong enough that I was forced to take a few steps back as I held my stomach with wide eyes and then fell to my knees in pain.

"Get out of my way!" Pailong shouted at me angrily.

"No! I can't let you kill someone who was important to Ling! I won't let you! I'll continue to protect her even if it kills me!" I shouted.

I stood up again and looked at him with determination as he let out an infuriated yell and grabbed his Nunchaku. I instinctively brought my arms up to protect myself before it slammed into them over and over again and I let out small yells of pain whenever he would hit me. He eventually stopped and then kicked me in the stomach causing me to fly back into the wall. My back slid down the wall and I ended up on the ground with my legs straight out in front of me as he launched another attack at me. My eyes widened in alarm and I tightly closed them in fear but when I didn't feel him hit me I slowly opened them back up. Yoh had managed to run between us and was currently blocking Pailong's Nunchaku with the two pieces of his broken sword as Pailong rapidly swung his weapon at him over and over again.

"Wait!" Yoh said to Pailong.

"It's no use. He's too furious, and he won't listen to reason." Amidamaru said as he appeared next to Yoh.

"You can understand his feelings?" Yoh asked.

"His fury isn't something that can be settled that easily, he's overexerting himself for nothing."

"What kind of fight is this?" Ryu asked.

"Yoh's Over Soul Merge should be close to its limit." Manta said with worry in his voice.

"Jun Tao! At this rate, Pailong will be devoured by hatred and become an evil spirit! Isn't there any way to stop this?!" Yoh asked as he looked at her.

I looked over at her as she looked at us with an expression of confusion, disbelief, and sadness. She looked down at the ground and spoke without hope in her voice.

"Impossible... Unless someone can defeat Pailong... Not even I can do anything... No one can stop Pailong now. Everyone will be killed!" Jun shouted.

Anna walked over to her and slapped her cheek with her right hand.

"Why are you giving up? He's your main spirit, isn't he? Take some responsibility." Anna said annoyed.

"My... Main spirit..." Jun said with pain in her voice.

"Someone who can defeat Pailong, can you think of anyone?" Anna asked.

"That's... How could there be anyone stronger than Pailong?" Jun asked as she bowed her head.

Her eyes widened as someone came to mind.

"There is, isn't there?"

"If I remember correctly Pailong was unable to defeat his master."

"Master?" Anna asked in surprise.

"That's right, it's Shamon!" Manta said happily.

"Shamon?" Ryu asked.

"He was Pailong's childhood teacher, who taught him the basics of Kung Fu. Even though he was only a master of martial arts, to Pailong, he was a teacher of life itself. Mighty Kung Fu Master, Shamon!"

"What about him? Shamon died long ago." Jun said in defeat.

"That's good." Anna said.

Anna quickly took off her rosary and held it in her right hand as she continued to speak.

"I'm an expert at spells of the Ancient Spirits. Anytime, anywhere, no matter where it is, I can recall the spirit. That is me Spiritualistic Medium Anna!"

"Spiritualistic Medium?" Jun asked in confusion.

"It's a group of Japanese shamans! They're similar to Daoshi." Manta said excitedly.

"It suddenly feels chilly." Ryu said as he held his upper body.

"I fondle it once, for the seed of the father. I fondle it twice, for the seed of the mother. I fondle it thrice, for the hometown. Mirror, descend upon my body. If this voice is heard over in the other world, stand up. If the sound of these beads is heard, come out now!" Anna shouted as she moved the beads with every sentence she uttered before she opened her eyes as they gave off a strange blue glow.

"A trance state?!" Jun asked in surprise.

"It's coming!" Manta shouted.

Anna grabbed the rosary with both of her hands and extended her arms straight out in front of her. Strange red flames began to form all around her until something that was shaped like a person formed from a large flame behind her. Anna smirked in satisfaction before she shouted.

"Yoh!"

Yoh let Pailong knock the two pieces of his sword out of his hands and then jumped back as he flew high into the air.

"Amidamaru! Unsealed Spirit Mode!" Yoh shouted as he broke his Over Soul Merge with him.

"Let's go!" Anna shouted as she ran forward and then jumped high into the air.

She began to chant as she flew towards Yoh and then shouted again.

"Shamon's soul! Fusion of the Spiritualistic Medium! Get inside!"

Her beads slammed into Yoh's back and transferred Shamon's soul to Yoh's body.

"Over Soul Merge..." Jun said in surprise.

I looked at Anna with amazement and new found respect. This was what she was capable of? She was very powerful. I didn't know that it was possible to bring spirits back after they had already passed on.

"All right, the roles are reversed now!" Manta shouted excitedly.

When Yoh's feet touched the ground, white energy surrounded his body as he finished merging with Shamon.

"Say what?" Yoh and Shamon said as they put their left hands up to their ears.

We looked at them for a few moments in confusion and disbelief. Amidamaru made a sound of shock unable to actually say anything in response.

Shamon was an old man with a section of white hair on the top of his head. He also had white hair that covered the lower half of his head at the sides and back and a white beard and mustache. His outfit was a red long sleeved Kung Fu top with a high collar, red pants, and black shoes.

"He's just a regular old man." Ryu said.

My eyes widened in surprise and I looked over at Ryu in confusion. Can Ryu see spirits too? No one told him that he was an old man... On the other hand, with the way Shamon was acting, it wasn't hard to figure out.

"Even so… If he's really the master, Pailong should not be able to attack!" Amidamaru said after he finally recovered from his shock.

But that wasn't what happened. Pailong was so consumed by his fury that he never took notice of the fact that he was now facing his master and launched an attack at Yoh.

"It's no good! Pailong didn't notice!" Manta shouted.

We watched tensely as Pailong aimed a punch at Yoh. Before Pailong's fist could hit him, Yoh moved to the side and dodged the attack with ease.

"He missed?!" Ryu asked in shock.

Pailong then aimed a kick at him but Yoh was able to step back and avoided it as well.

"And again!" Manta said in amazement.

"Was his aim off?" Ryu asked.

"No, that old man's movement... He can see all of Pailong's moves and dodge easily." Amidamaru said with shock.

"Yeah..." Ayumi said impressed.

Shamon continued to dodge each of his attacks easily but never tried to attack him. His movements were calm and controlled compared to Pailong's. In a way, it was almost like he was mocking him due to how easy it was for him to dodge his attacks but he never uttered a word. Pailong eventually had him backed up against a wall and aimed a kick at him with his right foot. Yoh jumped up into the air and dodged the attack causing Pailong's foot to go into the wall. He made several flips in the air before he came back down and lightly landed on his leg.

"Pailong, your moves are flawed, because you're acting out of fury." Shamon said through Yoh as he spoke for the first time.

Pailong looked at him in surprise as he finally realized he was there.

"Haven't I taught you? The most important thing for a martial artist to do is to calm themselves."

A look of anger appeared on Pailong's face before he pulled his foot out of the wall. Yoh jumped onto Pailong's knee and then used it as a platform to jump up high into the air as Pailong tried to punch him with his left fist. Pailong followed after him and let out a small yell as he jumped into the air and aimed another punch at him. Unlike before, Yoh turned around and faced him before he pushed Pailong's fists to the side as he blocked his punches. Pailong let out another yell and kicked at him before Yoh grabbed onto his ankle and used it to propel himself forward so he could get behind him. He quickly took his chance and slammed his hands into Pailong's back causing Pailong to fly towards the ground. The force of the attack was enough to make him bounce off of the ground a couple of times before he came to a stop a little ways away from him.

"Strong! He's super strong!" Ryu shouted in amazement.

"That's an attack invented by Daodandao! Shamon's Gun-Edge Fist!" Manta said.

"Pailong is being treated as if he were a child!" Amidamaru said in shock.

As Pailong managed to get back up onto his hands and knees, Yoh landed back down onto the ground. Shamon appeared in front of Yoh and then spoke to him.

"Fury clouds one's heart. Abandon your fury, Pailong."

"Why shouldn't I be furious?" Pailong asked.

After that Pailong stood back up but didn't turn around to look at his master as he continued to speak with anger in his voice.

"I... My life was taken away, and I've lost everything."

"You didn't lose everything. When you have lost everything, you can't even feel fury anymore. Yet, you are furious. Why? Because your devotion to the completion of Daodandao remains in your heart. However, is this martial art full of fury? The Daodandao you seek?" Shamon asked.

"Shut up!" Pailong shouted angrily as he turned around and took out his Nunchaku and launched another attack at him.

Yoh jumped to the side and avoided the attack.

"It's just like a child fighting!" Shamon said.

Pailong swung at him again but Shamon easily avoided it and then spoke again.

"If you let your feelings show so clearly, anyone can dodge your attacks!"

Pailong let out another yell as he tried to attack him again. Shamon quickly jumped back and then spoke again.

"If you don't calm down, your future will forever be closed to you."

Despite his masters warning, Pailong turned around and launched another attack at him.

"How ignorant. If you can't cool down your fury, I will personally calm your heart!" Shamon said seriously as he took a fighting stance for the first time during the fight.

I watched him closely as he turned both of his hands into fists and brought them down to his sides. This attack would be what ended this fight and hopefully it would end with Pailong's fury finally disappearing.

"Shadow Fist Succession Technique!" Shamon and Yoh yelled out.

Pailong yelled out and rapidly swung his Nunchaku as he charged at them.

"Double-Gun Fist!" they shouted once again.

The force of Shamon's attack was so great that it completely destroyed Pailong's Nunchaku and threw him up into the air. His body eventually crashed down onto the ground and he laid there completely motionless. After a few moments, a red glow came from the center of his chest.

"The seal is disappearing. He's returning to his true form." Anna said as his spirit materialized outside of his body.

"It's finally over." I said softly with a small smile on my lips.

Yoh suddenly fell to the ground causing my eyes to widen in surprise as I looked at him.

"Yoh!" Manta shouted as he, Ryu, and Amidamaru ran over to his fallen form.

Ayumi quickly made her way over to me and looked at me with a worried expression on her face while tears gathered in her eyes.

"(Name), you idiot! You're always doing something reckless!" she shouted at me.

I just smiled at her weakly before I winced in pain as I slowly stood up and made my way over to Yoh. When I made it over to him, I crouched down next to him.

"Hey, Yoh." I said with a tired smile.

"Yo." he said in response with a tired smile that matched mine as he opened his eyes.

"Thanks, Yoh for protecting Pailong." Manta said gratefully with a small smile on his lips.

Yoh smiled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head and then sat up. Yoh and I looked over at Pailong and I noticed that he was looking at Yoh with a stunned look on his face. Yoh just smiled at him with his carefree smile before Pailong's expression relaxed and he also smiled at him gently. Pailong suddenly looked over at me and also smiled at me causing me to look at him in surprise before I smiled at him shyly.

"Will you abandon Pailong and go?" Anna asked.

I looked over at her while the others were talking and saw that Jun was starting to walk away from us. Jun stopped walking and then spoke.

"Maybe I was wrong. Even though he was my main spirit, I didn't know anything about Pailong. I don't even know right from wrong right now." she said as she looked up at the night sky.

I slowly stood up and stared at her. I wanted to say something to comfort her but there wasn't anything I could say. Her beliefs were put into question tonight and she's been shaken to her core. Besides, I had a feeling this was exactly what Ling wanted. He wanted her and Ren to be shaken to their core and their beliefs to be put into question. That's the only way they could be freed from the shackles of their legacy.

"But I can say this much, I was totally defeated. He's a great person... Yoh Asakura." Jun said as she turned to the side and looked back at Anna with a smile.

"Of course, Yoh is my fiancé." Anna said as she looked back at her.

"(Name)..." Jun said as she looked me in the eye.

"Y-Yes?" I asked as I looked at her in confusion and surprise.

"Maybe Lan was right. You're not so bad after all." she said as she looked at me with a small smile on her lips.

I looked at her in surprise before I smiled at her with a gentle look on my face. The guilt I felt was still in my heart as I looked at her but I hid it as best as I could. The fact that she seemed to go back on her words was something I never expected. When she said that I killed Ling, I believed those words... No one knows how much I believe those words.

She looked away from me and closed her eyes as she spoke.

"I... Don't have the right to keep Pailong."

After that she turned her back to us and began to walk away again.

"Wait, please." Pailong said to her.

I looked back at him as he stared at Jun with a bright look on his face.

"Master, I can't rest in peace yet." Pailong said to Shamon.

"What?! You can't mean...?!" Shamon asked him in disbelief.

"As long as I can, I will pursue my dreams even if it's in the form of a Jiang Shi. Someday..." he said.

A small smile appeared on my lips again as he walked over to Jun who had stopped walking but still had her back to us.

"Jun Tao... I swear to you I will never give in to my fury again. So... will you make me into a Jiang Shi and allow me to stay by your side?" Pailong asked her with a small smile on his lips.

Jun turned around and looked at him in surprise for a few moments before a small smile appeared on her lips.

"All right. But, without the charm." she said with a nod.

A bright smile appeared on my face and before I knew what I was doing I walked over to Jun and hugged her happily while I ignored the pain that was still coursing through my body.

Ling, it looks like your wish for Jun to break free from her shackles is starting to come true...

She hesitantly hugged me back and after a few moments we let go of each other and she looked at me in confusion. I simply smiled at her in response before I looked over at Pailong and smiled at him.

We watched as Jun sealed Pailong back into his body with smiles on our lips. After Pailong was back inside of his body, he opened his eyes and stood back up. Manta and Ryu helped Yoh up onto his feet and supported him as we watched Jun and Pailong walk away into the night.

"Shamans! They are so damn cool!" Ryu said excitedly obviously extremely moved by what he had just seen.

A small laugh escaped my lips before I winced in pain and I felt the spirit come back over to me.

"Decided to finally come out of hiding, huh?" I asked him with a content expression on my face.

I looked up at the night sky and my eyes widened in surprise when I saw Ren from the corner of my eye. He was sitting on top of one of the nearby buildings with his feet dangling down from the edge of it as he glared down at us. A gentle breeze blew through my hair as our eyes made contact and I felt that familiar pull towards him. I couldn't stop myself from smiling at him gently and gave him small wave. His eyes widened in surprise as he looked at me in confusion before a glare appeared on his face that was a lot worse than the previous one.

"(Name)?" Manta asked.

"Yeah?" I asked as I turned my head and looked down at him.

"What are you looking at?"

I looked back up and noticed that Ren was gone. In response, I shook my head as I looked back down at Manta.

"It's nothing."

After that all of us began to head back to Yoh's place with Ryu. When we made it back there, I decided to take a bath to get the blood off of me from my encounter with Lun and changed back into my workout clothes. My uniform top was toast and I knew that I was going to have a fun time explaining all the bruises if my parents saw them...

A sigh escaped my lips as I walked into the living room for dinner and sat down. I just want to go to sleep...

"(Name), who was that guy who attacked you?" Ryu asked.

I looked over at him and sighed as Anna and Yoh looked at him in confusion.

"I'd like to know that as well." Ayumi said.

"His name is Lun Zhao. For some reason, he said that his family has been searching for me for 5 years so they could kill me and he also tried to seal the spirit away." I said.

"You really do know how to get some of the most dangerous people to come after you, don't you?" Anna said with a frown.

"I take it you know who he is?"

"I don't know him personally. However, his family is well known among shamans. They are a family of assassins just like the Tao family."

"How did you manage to get yourself involved with such a dangerous group?" Manta asked me.

"The truth is that I'm not sure. When he said his last name, I couldn't help but feel like I've heard it from somewhere but I don't know from where." I said.

"We're going to increase the severity of your training." Anna said with a serious expression her face.

"What?! But I just started training a week ago!" I said with a tired expression on my face.

"Training is the only way you're going to have a prayer of surviving any surprise attacks that may happen."

"...Fine. I don't really feel like dying any time soon." I said with a sigh.

After I finished my training for the day, I headed home with the spirit next to me. He was incredibly on edge until we made it to the house. My parents were already asleep by the time I made it back home and it made it easy to hide the fact that my school uniform had been destroyed and that I was covered in bruises.

I walked to my room and threw my uniform top inside of my closet and then took another shower before climbing into bed for the night. Why did I seem to attract danger where ever I go lately? Why is the Zhao family after me? How are they related to the spirit that's always around me? Why did Lun want to seal him? How were they related to the incident that happened 5 years ago? And why do I have such an unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach?


	12. Chapter 12: Another Attack

**A/N:**

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! Sorry for making all of you wait so long for this chapter! During the last few weeks I've had to teach my father how to use a smartphone and also how to use an app for his job. I hope you like it!

* * *

 **Chapter 12: Another Attack**

I walked into my house after another extremely long day of training and almost collapsed in the hallway while I tried to make it to my room. The spirit, who had been extremely nervous while I was walking home, finally relaxed a little when I had made it inside the house. After I had reached my room, I closed the door and walked over to my bed. I plopped down onto it as every muscle in my body cried out in pain and then instantly fell asleep.

It's been a week and a half since our encounter with Jun. Whenever I thought of Lun, I had an extremely unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach that wouldn't go away. I felt extremely uneasy about the situation. The spirit was also incredibly on edge whenever I left the house or wasn't at Yoh's place. He began to stick to me like glue and even went to my classes with me after that night. I didn't really mind it though his presence always brought me comfort.

As for my training, Anna didn't exaggerate when she said she was going to increase the intensity of it. To put it simply it's been hell, complete and total hell. I thought I knew how Yoh felt before but now I really do. Every night I come home, I've almost collapsed in the hallway while trying to make my way to my room. Luckily I haven't but with me also taking supplemental vocational classes I'm really starting to ware down. There are three reasons why I've been able to keep going. The first reason is I know if I don't train, I'll end up being killed the next time I run into anyone from the Zhao family. The second reason is my parents. They will immediately tell me I'm not allowed to spend time with Manta, Yoh, Amidamaru, Ayumi, or Anna anymore if my grades fall. The third one is Ling. I made a promise to him, and I have no intention of breaking it.

"I'm so tired," I said to Manta while we walked to Yoh's house.

Manta and I had just finished another morning of vocational classes. The spirit was next to me like usual and he was extremely on edge once again.

"Are you okay?" Manta asked with a concerned expression on his face.

"My entire body is sore. I have muscles I didn't even know I had that are painful to move. To top it all off, I still have to attend summer classes... If I feel like this now, how am I going to feel when school actually starts? All I'm doing is training, studying, eating and sleeping. I want to roll around the house and play video games or maybe just take a nap," I said as I rubbed my face with my hands.

"You sound like Yoh," Manta said with a smile of pity.

"I feel like Yoh," I said with a weak smile as I looked down at him.

Even though I was complaining, I knew Anna was only concerned about my wellbeing. This was her way of showing she cared about Yoh and me. My chest always feels warm when I think about it. I can't help but feel happy knowing she cares so much about me.

"It's (Name)!" I heard someone say.

I looked in front of us and noticed Ryu and his gang in front of the gate of Yoh's house. They were all sitting on their parked motorcycles. The group climbed off of their bikes as Manta and I walked over to them.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked in confusion when we reached them.

"Ryu..." the heavy set bald guy said before he trailed off.

"I want to talk to Yoh," Ryu said to me.

"What?" Manta asked in confusion.

"Why?" I asked.

"(Name)!" Anna suddenly shouted as the front door to the house slammed open.

I looked over at her along with the others and noticed that she was glaring at me. She had her hands on her hips while standing in the doorway. Ayumi was floating in the air next to her.

"Y-Yeah?" I asked her with a sweat drop at the back of my head.

What did I do?

"Hurry up," she ordered.

"Y-Yes. I'm coming," I said nervously.

Manta, Ryu and Ryu's gang followed me over to the front door of the house. Anna looked at everyone, except Manta and I, with distrust.

"Who are you?" she asked once we made it over to her.

"I'm sure you recognize Ryu from the night we encountered Jun. The others are his gang. Ryu said he wanted to talk to Yoh about something," I said to her.

"Fine," Anna said with a nod before she turned around and walked back into the house with the rest of us following close behind her.

We made our way into the living room, and I saw that Yoh was already sitting at the table.

"Hey, Yoh!" I said with a smile.

"Yo!" he said with a smile as he greeted Manta and me.

He looked behind us and a confused look appeared on his face when he noticed Ryu and his gang.

"Ryu said he wanted to talk to you," I explained as I sat down at the table next to Anna.

Anna forced Manta to make all of us tea while Ryu and his gang silently sat down on the floor in living room and in the hallway. When the tea was done, Manta gave everyone a cup of it and then sat down on the floor next to Yoh.

"So... Ryu, what is it you wanted to talk to Yoh about?" I asked while Yoh, Anna, Manta, and I looked at him.

"Please! Let me be your student!" Ryu shouted as he bent forward and placed his forehead on the floor in front of him.

"Are you asking me?" Yoh asked in confusion as he blinked at him.

Ryu lifted his head off of the floor and gazed up at him.

"Who else can I ask? I want to be a shaman too!"

"What?!" Manta shouted in shock as he stood up.

"He was deeply touched by Yoh's fight," the guy with the red knit hat said.

"This is going to be a long story..." the heavy set bald guy said.

"Yeah..." the blue haired guy said with a weak smile.

"As you know, I'm reaching my end. There's no room in housing or society for me. What enjoyment is there while riding on my bike with my friends? Even then, I need money for gasoline. The world is a harsh place," Ryu said.

Yoh, Anna, and I looked at each other but didn't say anything.

"Whenever I'm on my bike, I think, where did I come from? Where am I going? I ride like a madman on the never-ending highways. I believe that if I keep riding I'll end up somewhere at least. I'm just trying to say that I have the heart of a traveler with nowhere to go. That's all," Ryu said while he looked down at the tea cup in front of him.

I couldn't stop myself from raising an eyebrow as I tried to figure out what he was trying to say. Ryu picked up his cup to take a drink and then let out a content sigh as he enjoyed his tea.

"So what are you trying to say?!" Manta shouted out angrily.

"Master!" Ryu suddenly shouted after he put his cup back down.

Yoh made a sound of surprise as he jumped a little due to Ryu's sudden outburst.

"During your fight, I saw a real man! As a man, becoming a shaman is the only path for me!" Ryu declared.

Ryu bent forward and placed his forehead against the floor again.

"Please, let me become your student! I beg of you!" Ryu begged.

Yoh looked at him and smiled sheepishly as he spoke.

"I don't know what to say."

"Okay," Anna said.

Ryu lifted his head and looked at her in surprise along with the rest of us.

"Only if you pass the test," Anna said before she smiled.

An incredulous look appeared on my face while I stared at her. One look at her smile told me that she was up to something.

"What's the test?" I asked her.

"He has to cook lunch. If I approve, he passes. Manta, lead him into the kitchen."

Yoh, Manta, and I looked at each other before Manta did as she asked and led Ryu to the kitchen for his test.

Why do I get the feeling she's not taking his request seriously? It seems to me like she's just itching for an opportunity to get better food than what Yoh, Manta, and I can make. I know for a fact that becoming a shaman isn't as easy as just saying that you want to become one. You would first have to be able to see spirits and Ryu can't as far as I know.

"Now, you two go train while he makes our lunch," Anna ordered as she looked at Yoh and me sternly.

Yoh and I looked over at each other again and I noticed he had tears streaming down his cheeks as he cried out. A sweat drop appeared at the back of my head while I stared at him before I stood up and did as I was told. I knew Anna would definitely punish me if I didn't...

By the time lunch was ready, I had already worked up a sweat. Yoh and I walked back into the house and met Manta, Ryu and Ryu's gang at the doorway of the dining room. When Manta, Yoh and I reached the table, sounds of amazement came from Yoh's and Manta's mouths. My mouth fell open in disbelief while I gazed at the vast assortment and presentation of the food. It all looked like it had been prepared by a professional chef and there was so much it almost couldn't fit on the table!

Anna was already sitting at the table and I sat down next to her. Manta took the seat straight across from me while Yoh sat down next to him in front of Anna.

"When it comes to cooking, I even impress myself," Ryu said proudly.

I continued to stare at the food on the table in complete amazement before I decided to finally have a taste of it. I picked up my chopsticks and the small bowl of food that was in front of me. When I was about to place a piece of food in my mouth, I looked up and realized everyone was staring at Anna intently. A sweat drop appeared at the back of my head before I finally put a piece of food in my mouth at the same time as Anna. My eyes widened in surprise and I looked down at the small bowl of food in amazement. It didn't only look good it also tasted good!

"Mistress Anna?" Ryu asked expectantly.

"You pass," she said after swallowing.

"I'd say," I said impressed as I nodded my head in agreement.

Ryu looked at her with joy on his face and stared at her expectantly. The others in his group, however, didn't look like they shared his enthusiasm. They glanced at him with weary expressions on their faces.

"You can start work immediately," Anna said.

Work?

"Yes!" Ryu shouted out in joy and excitement.

I watched the guy with the red knit hat whisper to the heavy set bald guy while everyone else in the group continued to look at Ryu wearily.

"This is really good!" Yoh said happily as he took his first bite.

"Yeah, it's like a pro's cooking!" Manta said with his mouth full of food.

"Compared to your cooking there's a world of difference," Anna said bluntly as she ate her food with a ghost of a smile on her lips.

Yoh, Manta, and I looked at her with sheepish smiles and spoke at the same time.

"Yes, that's true."

Yoh's and Manta's eyes widened as a look of realization appeared on their faces.

"Anna... you..." Yoh began saying.

"Maybe she'll use Ryu as a housekeeper," Manta said as he looked at Yoh.

Anna didn't say their assumption was wrong. I glanced over at her with a sweat drop at the back of my head.

So I was right, she really was going to use him as a chef. I'm surprised Yoh and Manta didn't realize it when she told him she wanted him to cook for his test... I can't say I blame her though Manta's, Yoh's, and my cooking wasn't all that great. It was barely edible.

"I did it!" Ryu shouted again as he continued to pump his fists up into the air enthusiastically.

"He doesn't even have a clue..." Yoh and Manta said at the same time while they watched Ryu from over their shoulder.

Ryu and his gang waited for us to eat the rest of the food and I was extremely satisfied by the end of the meal.

"Thanks for the meal!" Yoh said in gratitude while putting his hands together in a prayer position as he finished eating.

"It was absolutely delicious Ryu. Thank you," I said while I smiled at him and showed him my gratitude.

Everyone in his gang looked at me with a light blush on their cheeks while Ryu's face turned completely red. Ryu cleared his throat and looked off to the side in embarrassment as he tried to compose himself.

"You two go back to your training," Anna ordered Yoh and me.

A sigh escaped my lips before I stood up and headed back outside with Yoh following behind me. We trained together using Anna's daily workout routine and by the time dinner came around I was beyond exhausted. At least I knew there was decent food waiting for me when I was done.

When dinner ended, Ayumi trained me to help me develop my skills as a shaman. I hadn't been able to do much so far.

"You did it!" Ayumi shouted excitedly while I panted in exhaustion with my hands on my knees.

A small blue sphere with a leaf in the center of it was floating in the air in front of me. It had extremely small arms and legs and what looked like pointy ears at the top of its head.

I had finally summoned a Shikigami Kooni.

"Y-Yeah..." I said with a tired smile.

The spirit had a mixture of emotions flowing through him. He seemed like he couldn't decide how to feel about it.

"I must say I'm impressed. You've learned quite a bit over such a short period of time. You're also slowly starting to get used to Anna's training. Under normal circumstances it would take years for you to reach the level of skill you have. Next week I'm going to start teaching you how to be able to defend yourself with hand to hand combat. If the spirit and I aren't around, I want you to be able to do something to defend yourself."

"You're going to teach me martial arts?"

"Yes," she said with a nod.

"Awesome! So I'll be able to fight like Pailong?!" I said excitedly.

"I don't know about that, but you'll definitely be able to handle a confrontation when I'm done training you. In any case, let's end your training here today. You look exhausted."

"I am exhausted," I said as I nodded my head in agreement.

Ayumi, the spirit, and I headed back inside of the house and the moment we made it into the living room Ayumi spoke with excitement in her voice.

"Anna, she's already managed to summon a Shikigami Kooni!"

Anna looked back at us with a small amount of surprise on her face. She was at the small round table and was watching television until Ayumi's announcement. Yoh and Manta were also at the table and looked over at me in surprise.

"Really?" Yoh asked.

"Yes!" Ayumi said with a grin.

"It took me years to figure that out..." Yoh said.

"That's because you're slow," Anna said bluntly.

I decided to sit down at the table and watched television with her until it was time for me and Manta to go home.

"Do you want us to give you a ride (Name), Manta?" Ryu asked as I started to put my shoes on.

Ryu and his gang were standing in the hallway along with Yoh and Anna.

"I'm alright. Thanks for the offer," I said.

I couldn't accept it. My parents would definitely not like it if I was taken home by a gang.

Manta and I headed out of the house with the spirit in tow and eventually parted ways to walk to our own separate homes. I was unfortunate enough that I still had homework to do when I made it to the house. I was forced to stay awake long enough to do it before I finally collapsed onto the bed and instantly fell asleep.

The next few days were the same. I went to my summer classes and trained at Yoh's and then after I was finished with Anna's training I was able to eat something that seemed like it was cooked by a professional chef before I trained more with Ayumi and headed home once I was ready to leave. Ryu's gang had taken refuge inside of Yoh's house since Ryu had become Anna's housekeeper. It was obvious his gang didn't think Anna was training him. She had given him a housekeeping list to follow and told Ryu it was his training. Meanwhile, the spirit continued to stick to me like glue and watched over me. I wasn't sure how he felt about my shaman training. It felt like he had mixed emotions. He seemed confused and uneasy and yet also proud.

I stretched my arms up into the air while Yoh, Manta, the spirit and I headed towards Yoh's house.

"I'm so happy that we're done with Anna's training for today," I said with a relieved sigh.

"Yeah!" Yoh said happily in agreement.

"I bet Ryu will like his new sword you bought for him," I said.

When we finished training, we decided to go find a wooden sword for Ryu since Yoh had broken his during his fight with Pailong.

"Come on! Everything is half price! Buy everything! Everything must go!" a man shouted at one of the vendor stalls at the side of the street.

A stampede of women ran towards him in order to buy something as they fought each other for the merchandise.

"Wow... That's a lot of desperate people," I said in amazement as we continued to walk down the street.

An arm with a long white sleeve suddenly appeared as someone reached out from between two of the women. Whoever it was had been pushed down to the ground during the commotion and was trying desperately to escape the crowd.

We stopped when we saw Ryu emerge from the legs of the women as he crawled out of the group.

"What are you doing?" Manta asked.

He was currently sitting on his bicycle.

"Do you need a hand Ryu?" I asked as I extended my right hand towards him.

He nodded his head and grabbed it, and I helped him up from the ground.

"Thanks," he said.

We walked away from the large group of women and headed over to a quiet spot so Yoh could give Ryu his new sword.

"Here," Yoh said as he extended the wooden sword out to Ryu.

"What's this?" Ryu asked in confusion.

"I broke yours when I borrowed it."

"Ah," Ryu said as he grabbed it.

As we headed to Yoh's house together in silence, I looked up at the gold colored sky and enjoyed the peace and quiet. Sometimes it's nice to just stare up at the sky and not think about anything.

I think Yoh's personality is starting to rub off on me...

The spirit was extremely nervous, and I decided to speak to him.

"Nothing's going to happen, spirit. You don't have to be so nervous. Try to enjoy the sunset. Isn't it pretty?" I said to him calmly with a small smile on my lips.

"Yeah," Yoh said in agreement.

"Master," Ryu said.

"Yes?" Yoh asked.

"I probably shouldn't say this because I'm the student, but you are a bit lazy."

"What?"

"I think that being a shaman is a full time job. I've heard that there will be a lot of people like Ren gathering. If you don't train hard, then I don't think you will be strong enough. That's what I think, at least."

"But, Yoh is getting stronger," Manta said with a small smile.

"The more you train, the stronger you will become! Am I wrong?" Ryu asked passionately.

Yoh didn't say anything for a few moments and then looked up at the sky with a smile.

"Look up there. That cloud formation looks so wonderful. If I could nap up there, it would be so great..."

Ryu looked at him for a few moments before he let out a sigh and stopped walking. We stopped and looked back at him.

"You like the clouds. And you like to drift along with the winds. But if you drift with the winds, you cannot focus in a Shaman Fight."

"I can see your point of view Ryu, but I also think what he's doing is right to a certain extent. If you don't enjoy the simple things around you or take it easy from time to time, you'll wear yourself out. There needs to be balance. It makes it easier to focus on things if you don't feel like you're locked inside a cage because you're not able to enjoy life," I said as I looked back up at the sky.

When I looked back down, I noticed a tall curvaceous woman with black eyes in front of us. She wore a red sleeveless top with a Chinese collar that had gold edging and showed off her stomach. There was a gold belt around her hips that held up her red mini skirt. Red wrist bands were wrapped around her wrists. She had red boots which went just above her knees. Her long dark cyan hair reached down to her hips and was parted on the right side of her head. There were two long sections of bangs in front of her face. The left bang went over her left eye and had several silver hair clips. Her hair was curly and frizzy from the back of her neck all the way down to her hips.

The spirits nervousness skyrocketed, and I had a feeling that she was related to the Zhao's or the Tao's since she was wearing Chinese styled clothing. There was a confident expression on her face while she stared at us with her arms crossed underneath her chest. It was obvious she was waiting for us to come around.

"Prepare to die, Yoh Asakura! (First Name) (Last Name)!" she said confidently.

"...Well at least I know she's not part of the Zhao's," I muttered with a sigh.

They wouldn't be after Yoh as well.

"Yoh!" Manta shouted in alarm.

A woman suddenly appeared in front of her. She had long brown hair that was up in a high ponytail by a red ribbon and bangs that were parted in the middle. Her outfit was an extremely tight fitting ninja outfit and her eyes were covered by a green visor.

The moment the ninja woman charged at us, Yoh suddenly shoved me, Ryu and Manta to the side. I let out a sound of surprise as I was thrown into the bushes next to us along with Ryu who had been standing next to me. The ninja woman pulled out a weapon with three thin whips and swung at Yoh. He raised his arms in front of him to defend himself and let out a sound of pain as the weapon made contact with his arms.

"Master!" Ryu yelled out in alarm.

The ninja woman launched a thin wire at Yoh and managed to make it wrap tightly around his neck to choke him and my eyes widened in alarm.

"Yoh!" I shouted as I stood up and Ryu charged at her.

"It's cowardly to attack a retreating opponent!" Ryu shouted at her as he swung his sword.

His sword slammed into the side of her head but nothing happened. She didn't even flinch. It was as if he hadn't done anything at all.

She quickly made a round house kick and sent him flying back. His back slammed into the trunk of a tree which was next to me before she threw three kunai at him. Ryu's eyes bulged, and he yelled out in horror as they planted themselves into his hair. Manta quickly ran over to us to see if he was okay while Yoh took his chance and managed to untangle his neck from her weapon. He quickly jumped back to put more distance between them and let out a few pants.

"I though I was going to die there... Thank you, Ryu," Yoh said as he looked over at Ryu.

Ryu was still in shock and could only give him a peace sign. Yoh grinned at him before he looked back over at the ninja woman with a serious expression on his face.

"Amidamaru!"

"Yes!" Amidamaru shouted as he appeared behind him.

"Amidamaru! Spirit Ball Mode!" Yoh shouted as Amidamaru turned into a blue spirit ball and formed in his right hand.

After that Yoh lifted his right arm into the air.

"Over Soul Merge!" Yoh shouted before he pushed Amidamaru's soul inside of his chest.

After Yoh finished merging with Amidamaru, the ninja woman threw a few kunai at him. He jumped into the air to dodge them, and then she suddenly threw some at me. My eyes widened in alarm and I dived out of the way just in time. The spirit quickly flew over to my side as I stood back up.

"Master!" Ryu shouted as he threw his sword towards him.

While Yoh was still in the air, he caught Ryu's sword and used it to block the kunai the ninja woman threw at him. Afterwards, he landed on his feet once again in a crouched position.

"Is she another one of Ren's friends?" Ryu asked tensely.

"I don't know, but somehow she feels similar to Pailong!" Manta said tensely.

"I would say she is connected to the Tao's in some way. She knew mine and Yoh's name. As far as I know, the Tao's are the only ones who would want to kill Yoh," I said seriously.

The ninja woman threw more kunai at me, and the spirit quickly created an extremely strong gust of wind that flew forward to intercept them. As a result, the kunai stopped in their tracks and fell the ground with a loud clatter. She was forced to jump to the side in order to avoid being thrown back by the wind and the cyan haired woman looked at the spirit in surprise.

I could tell the spirit was extremely tense. He wasn't going to let down his guard just in case the ninja woman tried to do anything else to me. I knew I was in capable hands. It was Yoh I was really worried about. Who knew what this woman was really capable of? If she was anything like Pailong, then she must be powerful.

She quickly sent another round of kunai at Yoh, and he blocked them with his sword once again. I watched with Manta and Ryu as she took out her wire weapon and wrapped it around his sword. A game of tug of war ensued as she pulled on the wire in order to pull Yoh's weapon right out of his hands. Yoh was forced to take a step forward to prevent it and then began to pull back. He pulled back with enough force that the woman flew up into the air and then crashed down onto the ground behind him on her back.

"It doesn't make any difference what weapons you use," Yoh said to the cyan haired woman.

She looked at him in surprise for a few moments before a confident smirk appeared on her face again.

"Then how about this?" she asked.

The ninja woman stood up before a thin layer of white energy surrounded her body. Suddenly she started multiplying as she circled around Yoh.

"It's an illusion!" Ryu shouted in shock.

She laughed at Yoh mockingly as if daring him to try to hit her while she and her illusions of herself circled around him.

"Damn you! Using illusions!" Amidamaru said tensely.

The woman launched several illusions at him while Yoh tried to swing at each of them as they came his way in case any of them were really her. In the mean time, she was able to hit him several times. Eventually, he fell to the ground in a kneeling position as he panted in pain and exhaustion.

"When Yugai is finished with him, you're next," the cyan haired woman said to me with a confident look on her face.

"Amidamaru!" Yoh said while panting heavily.

"Calm down, Lord Yoh. Now, close your eyes," Amidamaru said.

"Eyes... Okay," Yoh said before he closed his eyes.

"There is only one opponent. Don't be fooled by her tricks. Feel with your heart."

Yugai and her illusions launched at him all at the same time as she prepared for her final blow. I looked at him anxiously and made a last minute decision.

"Spirit, I want you to throw your wind at Yugai to protect Yoh!" I shouted.

He did as I asked and flew forward as he created a strong gust of wind. Yugai was blown away from Yoh and she ended up slamming into a nearby tree before falling to the ground with a loud thud. She slowly stood up and looked at me with a frown on her lips. Afterwards, she decided to multiply herself again and launched towards me. Ryu and Manta were still next to me and I quickly shoved them out of the way to protect them. Yugai reached me only moments later and I yelled out in pain as she kicked me and sent me crashing down onto the ground.

"(Name)!" Yoh shouted in alarm.

I stood back up and punched at one of the Yugai's as she launched at me but my fist went through an illusion instead. She managed to kick me in the stomach and knocked the air out of me as I flew back and slammed down onto the ground. The spirit quickly came to my aid when she went to attack me again and threw her away from me. Yoh also came to my aid and hit the real Yugai in the face with the back of the handle of his sword. The green visor that had been covering her eyes broke as she flew backwards.

"He did it!" Manta shouted excitedly.

"Amazing!" Ryu said in amazement.

Yugai made a single flip in the air to land on her feet. Her feet slid against the ground until she came to a stop in a crouched position. She made a sound of annoyance as she opened her black eyes and then stood up before she threw some sort of smoke bomb into the ground. Smoke blanketed the whole area and Manta, Ryu, and I started to cough. Almost instantly, I felt my body go completely numb and it took everything in my power to keep myself from falling to the ground as Manta and Ryu collapsed.

"W-What is this?" I asked.

"My body has become numb!" Yoh said while also struggling to remain on his feet.

"They've resorted to dirty tricks!" Amidamaru said.

The spirit quickly used his wind to disperse what was left of the smoke and then Yugai threw another set of kunai at Yoh. He managed to block them with his sword, but it was obvious he was struggling to move. She sent another round at him as he used his sword as a cane to remain on his feet and one of them sliced into his cheek.

"Y-Yoh! Spirit, I want you to go help him!" I said tensely before I fell to my knees.

Yugai suddenly threw a set of kunai at me, and the spirit quickly prevented them from striking me as he created his wind. She immediately threw two more sets of kunai at Yoh and they sliced into his clothes. It was obvious Yugai knew that as long as she kept attacking me the spirit wouldn't leave my side. He wasn't going to be able to help Yoh with how far I am away from him!

"Y-Yoh!" Manta said weakly.

"That's problematic. If I don't return home soon and make dinner, Anna will get mad again," Yoh said.

I gave him an incredulous look. Is now really the time to be thinking of something like that?

"That's my job master," Ryu said.

"Is that so?" Yoh said with a light laugh.

"...You two," I said in amusement as I forced myself to slowly stand back up.

I suppose I can't blame him. Anna's wrath is not something I want to be on the other end of. She's already increased the intensity of our training because he decided to watch the clouds earlier today instead of lifting weights. We have to lift twice the amount of weight now...

"Yoh you might be right. I don't want Anna to tell us that we have to lift heavier weights because she didn't get dinner on time," I said with a look of dread of my face.

"That's right," Yoh said with exhaustion in his voice.

He definitely didn't look thrilled at the thought.

"You've gone numb in the head too. Very good. Finish him off and then the girl Yugai!" the cyan haired woman ordered with a confident smile on her face.

Not if I can help it. I won't allow her to kill him.

"Let's see if I can also destroy this one," I said to myself while hoping I could help Yoh out.

I used the last of my energy to charge towards Yugai as she threw another round of kunai at Yoh. Yoh, with Amidamaru's help, managed to use his wooden sword and blocked it causing the kunai to plant themselves into the sword before they fell to the ground.

"Amidamaru is a samurai who killed a thousand people. To him, this numbness isn't a problem. Right, Amidamaru?" Yoh said.

"That's right!" Amidamaru said as his form appeared behind Yoh.

"You talk too much brat! Shut him up! Yugai!" the cyan haired woman said annoyed.

"Hey, Yugai!" I shouted when I reached her.

She looked over at me in surprise as I pulled my fist back to punch her. I managed to punch her in the face with as much strength as I could muster. Her body flew back towards a nearby tree but before she actually hit it she screamed and began to slowly crack into pieces until she was destroyed.

My eyes widened in surprise when I noticed a pair of familiar gold eyes. Ren was hiding behind the tree I had sent Yugai flying towards. There was a look of shock on his face. I gave him a small smile and his eyes widened just a little more. Unlike all the other times I had seen him, he didn't glare at me. He seemed like he was too shocked to.

"I-Impossible! How...?! How could you destroy Yugai with a single punch without being merged with a tool?!" she shouted at me in shock.

"I don't know... I just can?" I said with a tired laugh as I looked over at her.

My body suddenly collapsed and I fell onto my back as the spirit came to my side.

"A-Awesome!" Yoh said in amazement.

"I'm so numb... It's not even funny," I muttered while looking up at the sky with a tired expression on my face.

"You..." the woman said with anger in her voice.

She started to advance towards me but the spirit created a wall of wind that forced her to stay in place.

"So, what do you plan to do now?" Yoh asked in his carefree way as he smiled at her.

She looked over at him and then glared at me again before she decided to turn around and started to walk away.

"Make sure to tell Ren and Jun I said hello, will you?" I called after her.

Amidamaru flew out of Yoh's chest as his Over Soul Merge broke and appeared next to Yoh in his full form.

"That's good. I was barely able to do this much," Yoh said with a tired sigh as he smiled.

"I wouldn't have been able to help you again either," I said to him.

Yoh walked over to me and I just stared up at him.

"Are you alright?"

"Other than the fact I'm completely numb, I think I'm okay. The spirit made sure of it," I said with a relaxed smile on my face as I let out a small laugh.

"Do you want to go over to Manta and Ryu?" he asked.

"Yes. But, I don't really feel like I can move at the moment without help."

"Okay," Yoh said.

He helped me stand up and then walked me over to the others before we both sat down on the ground next to Manta and Ryu.

"Are you two alright?" Yoh asked.

"We'd better go home! Anna will be waiting for us. I bet she's starving!" Manta said with his back against Ryu.

"But my body is so numb, I can't move," Ryu said while in a position that reminded me of a cat or dog when it's stretching.

Yoh and I heard footsteps behind us, and we moved our heads back to look at the person with our heads upside down. Anna was standing there with an extremely furious expression on her face and her arms crossed over her chest. Yoh, Ryu, and Manta made strangled yells of surprise before they suddenly found the strength to stand up. I just continued to sit on the ground.

"Hey, Anna," I said with a relaxed smile.

She gazed down at me as her eye twitched and I laughed nervously. Ayumi appeared next to her and looked down at me as well.

"Why does it look like you've been in a fight again?" she asked.

"Because we have... That's why were here actually. Our bodies were too numb to move but apparently after seeing Anna they can stand up again."

"You really are a handful you know that?"

"Hey, I don't look for trouble it always seems to come to me. It's not my fault people want to kill me nowadays."

"Who was it, the Zhao family?"

"No. I think it was someone related to Jun and Ren. She had a ninja woman Jiang Shi named Yugai that was similar to Pailong. Yugai attacked us and threw a strange smoke bomb that made us go numb," I said as I explained what happened to Anna and Ayumi.

"I'm hungry," Anna said annoyed.

"Y-Yes!" Ryu, Yoh, and Manta shouted before they began to walk back to Yoh's house.

I sighed and then forced myself to stand up as well and followed them all to the house. To be honest, I was starting to feel pretty hungry too. I decided to take a hidden glance at the tree where Ren had been but there was no trace of him. He had disappeared once again.

The rest of the night I relaxed with the others before I headed home and started on my homework. While I worked on it, I couldn't help but think about what happened. My training was already paying off. Normally I wouldn't have been able to stand up after my entire body went numb. The fact I could punch Yugai was a miracle.

Soon... Soon I'll be able to defend myself without relying on others to help me. I'll be able to stand on my own two feet and I'll be able to help Ren and Jun!


	13. Chapter 13: Best Place

**A/N:**

I hope everyone has had a good year so far! Happy New Years everyone! I hope all of you like this next chapter!

* * *

 **Chapter 13: Best Place**

"(Name), come to the office when you're fully awake." I heard my mother say on the other side of my bedroom door.

"Okay." I managed to get out.

I was still extremely tired from yesterdays training but I forced myself to get out of my bed and started to get ready for the day. It was rare for my mother to ask me to go inside of the office. Whenever she did ask me to, it was always because my parents had something important to talk to me about. Usually, it wasn't good.

When the spirit and I made it out of my room, I had on a pair of blue jeans and a black t-shirt. I felt nervousness bubble up inside of me as I made my way down the hallway and over to the door of the office. It was already open since both of my parents were expecting me.

My father was sitting in the chair behind his desk and his eyes narrowed in on me along with my mothers as she stood next to him. I looked at both of them with a neutral expression on my face and walked into the room. As I stood in front of his desk, I mentally prepared myself for whatever it was they wanted to talk to me about.

"We just received your final grades. Nothing less than we expected from you." my father said.

I nodded my head. That's the closest thing to a compliment I've received from him in a long time.

"Now that you've graduated from high school, it's almost time for you to take the Nationally Administered Uniform Achievement Test. It's going to take place next week. We also expect you to take the entrance exam for Tokyo University this June. Failure will not be tolerated." he said as a stern expression appeared on his face.

"Yes father." I said.

It's already been seven months since we were attacked by the cyan haired woman and Yugai last August. There have been several attacks by Jiang Shi during that time but other than that it's been fairly quiet. I haven't seen Ren, Jun, or any of the Zhao's. The spirit has also calmed down a great deal. Sure, he's a little on edge but not like what he had been before.

"We expect great things from you. You have to prove to your grandfather that you're better than your cousin. You have to prove to him that we're better than my sister's family." my mother said.

"Yes mother." I said.

They really would kill me if they found out I was friends with that very same cousin. I've always thought that all of this competition stuff was a bunch of nonsense. I knew my grandfather didn't care about this kind of thing. It was my parents who cared a little too much about it. Ever since my aunt married Manta's mother, they've wanted nothing more than to prove our family was just as good if not better than the Oyamada's.

My father decided to continue the conversation.

"I want you to study diligently until it is time for you to take the entrance exam for Tokyo University. When we're satisfied you have studied enough each day, we will grant you permission to be with your friends. However, even if you don't have school, you will still be expected to come home before 9:30 like you have been."

"Yes father." I said.

My father hesitated for a moment and then spoke again.

"We also have another matter to speak to you about." my father said as he looked over at my mother who simply nodded her head in agreement.

There was an extremely long pause as if they didn't know how to continue. They didn't normally hesitate to tell me things. The fact that they were now worried me a little. I was starting to get a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.

What do they want to talk to me about?

"We've been talking with a few business partners about you." my mother finally said.

I fought to maintain my neutral expression even though I felt nothing but confusion.

Why would they be talking about me with their business partners? I'm not taking over the company any time soon.

"After you're done with your exam for Tokyo University, we want you to meet their sons." she said.

"...Why?" I asked wearily.

"We're hoping you will become interested in one of them."

The feeling in the pit of my stomach only became worse, and I asked the question that I already knew I was going to dread the answer to.

"What do you mean by "interested"?"

"We want you to choose one of them to marry after you've met all of them."

I couldn't stop myself from looking at them in surprise as I spoke with disbelief in my voice.

"What?"

They wanted me to choose one of them to marry?!

I could tell the spirit was also surprised by the news.

"We were tempted to arrange a marriage with one of them when you were a child. Unfortunately, there wasn't an opportune moment to do so." my mother continued to say as if she hadn't seen the way I reacted to the news.

"The person you marry must be from a prominent family, (Name). In order to ensure that, we have carefully chosen a group of men that fit all the criteria we have in mind for your future husband." my father said firmly.

He knew I didn't like their idea.

"I let you choose my university. I let you choose what I'm going to do for a career. Now I also have to pick out a husband from a group of people that you've chosen because I have to marry someone from a prominent family?" I asked with a guarded expression on my face.

I felt angry and rightfully so. Why do they think they can control every little aspect of my life?! I can't even choose a person to marry who isn't from their social circles?!

"Yes. It is the only way to ensure we will finally gain your grandfathers approval. We will finally become a prominent family." my mother said with a nod.

"I want to marry someone out of love not because of the business and our reputation." I said firmly and as calmly as I could.

Despite the fact I was trying to hide how I was feeling however, there had been a hint of annoyance in my voice.

"You will do as we say. You are to interview each of these men and decide who you're going to marry by the time you're ready to go to Tokyo University." my father said.

They want me to decide before I even make it to the university?!

"No! You can't make me do this!" I shouted.

This time they've taken things too far!

"It's too late. We've already arranged times for the marriage interviews." my mother said.

"What?" I whispered in surprise and alarm.

They set up the interviews before they even told me about this?!

"They all know the reason for the meetings and have agreed to it."

"You can't be serious." I said in disbelief.

My mother placed her right hand on top of a pile of manila folders that were on my father's desk.

"Here are the files of each person we have chosen for you. We want you to go through them carefully before you meet with each of them. As we said before, the interviews will start after you've passed your entrance exam for Tokyo University. Do not disappoint us."

"But-"

"Your mother and I are very busy. We don't have time to argue about something that has already been decided. This is something that you must do for the family. Our reputation depends on it." my father said with a hint of finality in his voice.

I stood in front of the desk frozen in place. I didn't say anything. I couldn't say anything. Everything had already been decided, and I knew that there was nothing I could do.

To be honest, I shouldn't be surprised about this. All they've ever cared about was the family business and the family name. They have always disregarded my feelings and they always will.

A sigh escaped my mother's lips as she picked up the pile of folders.

"We can't wait for you all day." she said.

She handed them to me and then forced me to turn around before she pushed me out of the office and closed the door behind me. I stood in the hallway in shock for a while as I stared down at the files in my hands. If I wasn't holding them, I would have thought that it was all some horrible dream but I knew I wasn't so lucky.

Today was supposed to be a happy day. I was planning to celebrate the fact I had finally graduated but I didn't feel like celebrating anymore... My heart felt hollow. It always hurt when they treated me like this but there was nothing I could do about it. I'm lucky they've even given me the option to choose between the men they picked out for me.

I felt the spirit completely engulf me in his comforting presence. He knew exactly how I felt. Right now all I wanted to do was go back into my room and never come back out. If I went back to sleep, I wouldn't have to worry about what had just taken place. I could simply forget for a few hours.

A sigh escaped my lips, and I slowly made my way to my room to place the folders on top of my desk. I stared at my bed and had to fight the temptation to curl up into a ball and go to sleep. Even if I wanted to hide inside of my room, I knew I couldn't. I promised everyone that I would come to Yoh's house to celebrate my graduation.

It might do me some good to get out of the house. I might be able to forget all about this for a little while...

On the way to Yoh's place, my thoughts were preoccupied by today's developments. Even the spirit seemed to forget to feel nervous about someone appearing out of nowhere to attack me. I could tell that he was worried about me.

When we arrived, I noticed everyone in Ryu's gang was all huddled together in a circle outside.

"Hey guys." I said with a fake smile on my lips.

"(Name)!" they shouted happily as they waved at me.

I've been able to get to know them since they've taken refuge in Yoh's house and they really aren't all that bad. Their dream is the same as Ryu's. They just want to find some place where they feel like they belong.

The blue haired guy who let me ride on the back of his motorcycle after my fight with Ren was called Blue Chateau. He was, in my opinion, the most attractive of the bunch. Ball Boy was the guy who was shirtless, heavyset and had a large tattoo on his stomach of two B's. Muscle Punch was the guy who wore the red knit hat on top of his head. He was the second in command. Junk Food was the one who had a yellow rain jacket covering his body. I've never actually seen his face to see what he looked like. Death Machine was the guy with shoulder length gray hair. Free Day was the guy who wore a green military jacket and beret. Space Shot was the guy with short brown hair styled into a buzz cut. He wore a white shirt underneath a black jacket. Apache was the second to the tallest in the group and had his brown hair styled into a short Mohawk. Last, but definitely not least, was Silver Sun. He was by far the tallest of the group. In fact, he makes everyone look small compared to him.

"What are you guys doing out here?" I asked the group once I made it over to them.

"Thinking." Blue Chateau said.

"Thinking? What are you guys thinking about?" I asked with a puzzled look on my face.

"We still haven't found our Best Place yet." Ball Boy said depressed.

I looked at them for a few moments in thought and then finally decided to speak my mind.

"Are you guys sure that it has to be a place?"

They looked at me in confusion before Muscle Punch spoke.

"What do you mean? Of course it has to be a place."

"Your Best Place, isn't it somewhere you guys feel like you belong? It's somewhere that you can call home and feel like you're worth while, right? At least, that's what I've gathered from what Ryu told us."

"Yes." Space Shot said with a nod while the group looked at me with puzzled expressions still on their faces.

"Then, if that's the case, haven't you already found it within each other?"

They gave me incredulous looks but I continued to speak anyway.

"All of you support each other through thick and thin because you're friends. Is it really that farfetched to think that your group is the Best Place all of you are looking for? Don't you guys feel like you have somewhere you belong when you're with each other? Don't you guys feel like you have some sort of meaning while you're together? Like you're important?" I asked.

They stared at me with uncertain expressions on their faces. It was obvious they didn't know how to respond to what I said.

"What I'm trying to say is just because you've found a building or a place doesn't mean you can call that place home. It doesn't mean you won't feel lost and alone either. You can have a roof over your head and a place to hang around and not feel like you belong. It's the people you have around you that make that building or place the Best Place. It isn't the building or place itself." I said.

I understood that all too well. Home didn't really feel much like home and I definitely didn't feel like I belonged there.

They stared at me with puzzled and worried expressions on their faces.

"You... How do you...?" Ball Boy said as he trailed off.

"(Name)? You're here?" Ayumi asked.

I looked over at her and realized Anna was also with her. They were both standing in the doorway of the front door to the house.

"Hey!" I said with a fake relaxed smile on my face.

"Why are you out here? You should be training." Anna said sternly.

"Sorry. I ended up getting a little side tracked." I said with a small laugh.

"You don't have time to get side tracked. Tonight I'm sure all of you are going to insist on celebrating instead of training."

I can't say that won't be the case...

A thought occurred to me and I looked over at Ryu's gang.

"Why don't you guys celebrate with us later tonight? You guys are my friends too, right?"

"We're your friends?" they all said in surprise and confusion.

"Yes. You're my friends." I said with a real smile on my lips.

Grins slowly appeared on their faces before they nodded their heads as they accepted my offer. I nodded my head in satisfaction and then headed inside to begin Anna's training. After I completed Anna's training for the day, Ayumi decided to train me before dinner since she knew I wouldn't have a chance later.

"(Name), dinners ready!" Ryu shouted from the back porch.

"Okay! Thank you Ryu!" I shouted back while I looked over at him.

Ayumi's spirit flew out of my chest and she took full form in front of me. With her training, I've been able to perform an Over Soul Merge for a month. It created a bit of a strain on my body, but it seemed to get a little easier the more I practiced it.

She was strangely quiet while she stared at me with a thoughtful expression on her face.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I think it's about time I told you something." she said with a serious expression on her face.

"What?" I asked wearily.

I'm not sure if I can handle any more surprises today.

"There's a possibility that you may be able to control the elements."

"What are you talking about?" I asked with a perplexed expression on my face.

"The spirit is able to create wind and I think it's because he's around you. He isn't a nature spirit, so I know it has nothing to do with his abilities. I wanted to wait until I felt like you were ready before I told you. If my theory is right, the only way you can continue your training is to go to the Asakura compound. That's the only way you'll be able to reach your full potential."

"Why would it matter if he's around me? What do you mean exactly when you say I can possibly control the elements?"

"You have the ability to control wind. That's the only reason why he would be able to create it. It's not that farfetched to think you may be able to control other elements as well."

"But why would I be able to create it?"

"Some shamans have the ability to control the elements. However, it is extremely rare."

"I see..."

"There's also something else I want to say. I don't want you to tell anyone about this. Absolutely no one except for the spirit and me is to know about it."

"What about Yoh, Manta, and Anna?"

"No." she said firmly.

I looked at her with a puzzled expression on my face but nodded my head.

The three of us headed inside of the house and just before Anna walked into the dining Ayumi called out to her.

"Anna, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Anna looked over at her and silently nodded her head before the spirit, Ayumi, Anna and I headed into the living room.

"What?" she asked impatiently.

I could tell she didn't want to wait any longer to eat.

"I have a request."

"A request?" Anna asked with a hint of curiosity in her voice.

"I want to ask Yoh's grandfather if he's willing to train (Name). It's the only way she'll be able to reach her full potential. Tell him the request is coming from Ayumi Sohma. I'm certain he'll know who I am."

Anna looked at her for a few moments before she silently nodded her head in agreement.

How does she expect me to reach my full potential if no one knows about my abilities? They can't help me if they don't know. Is she at least going to tell Yoh's grandfather about all of this? Why is it so important to keep it a secret anyway? I don't like keeping secrets from everyone...

"But I don't think I'll be able to go to the Asakura compound. I still have exams to study for and I highly doubt-" I started to say before she cut me off.

"I still want her to ask. This is important for the next level of your training."

I want to be able to reach my full potential too, but my parents wouldn't let me go. I still have exams to take and now I'm being force to go to marriage interviews. Ayumi was so insistent about it though I decided to let her do what she wanted. Yoh's grandfather might not accept anyway.

Everyone was in the dining room when we arrived.

"Congratulations!" Ryu, Ryu's gang, Yoh and Manta shouted.

A bright smile appeared on my lips as I looked around the room. Everyone had decorated it for the party and there was a large assortment of food on the table.

"Thank you, everyone." I said as warmth filled my chest.

The rest of the night I was able to relax and completely forgot about my problems because of the happiness that my friends provided me. I was surrounded by people who cared about me and supported me in all of my efforts. They gave me a place where I actually belong, a place that I could say was like home without actually being home. They all gave me my Best Place.


	14. Chapter 14: Horohoro

**A/N:**

It's finally here guys! I hope all of you enjoy the next chapter! Feel free to comment/review to tell me what you think or add my story to your favorites or alert list if you like it! I really would love to know what you think of the story so far!

* * *

 **Chapter 14: Horohoro**

I walked into the living room and sat down on the floor next to Manta and Yoh after another day of training. Anna was sitting on the other side of the table with her back to me while watching television. Ryu and his gang were also in the room sitting on the floor behind me while talking amongst themselves.

Yesterday was the day of my exam for Tokyo University. The results hadn't been announced yet, but I wasn't in the mood to worry about it. I was just happy it was over. It meant I had a lot more free time. My parents had been running me almost ragged with their strict studying regime. There were quite a few days I didn't even make it to Yoh's house to train. I had to ask the spirit to tell everyone I wouldn't be able to come over.

It didn't mean my life was stress free now that the exams were over, though. I was worried about the marriage interviews my parents were forcing me to go to. The first one was only a few days from now. They made it quite clear I had to choose someone to marry. What happens if I don't like any of them? I'll be forced to marry someone that I'm not interested in...

"You're done?" Blue Chateau asked.

"Yeah." I said with a tired smile.

My training had been just as harsh as it usually was but now Ayumi had added an extra twist to it. While everyone was busy doing their own thing, she tried to have me create certain elements without the spirits help. So far I haven't been successful, but Ayumi seemed to be satisfied with the results. To be honest, I wasn't entirely sure what to think about the idea. How could a shaman have the capability of materializing an element? It also bothered me Ayumi didn't want me to tell anyone about it. I'm sure she wouldn't ask me to keep it a secret without reason but I don't understand why. She hasn't offered to tell me the answer either. It's strange she seems to know so much about it while everyone else is supposed to remain in the dark.

"Anna, have you asked Yoh's grandfather about training her? Now that her exams are over, she should have time to go to Izumo." Ayumi said.

I wouldn't be so sure about that...

I knew for a fact I couldn't but Ayumi wouldn't hear anything of it. It wasn't like I wanted to tell everyone why I couldn't go, though. They didn't need to know about my family problems. What happens between me and my family is my business. It's something I have to deal with on my own.

Anna nodded her head and spoke as she looked at her.

"He's willing to do it. It was just like you said he knew exactly who you were."

I could tell from the look in her eyes she wanted to know what was going on but she didn't actually ask Ayumi anything.

"Did you hear that (Name)?!" Ayumi said with excitement in her voice.

"I can't believe it." I said with wide eyes while staring at Anna in disbelief as she looked back at the television.

"Neither can I. He doesn't normally take on students." Yoh said with wide eyes.

I never thought he would actually accept her offer either. It's especially strange now that Yoh's said that. Just who is Ayumi? Why would Yoh's grandfather know her? How would he know her? She was locked inside of her seal until I broke it.

"Who? What's going on?" Ryu asked.

"Yoh's grandfather says he's willing to train (Name)." Manta said in amazement as he looked at me.

"When does her training start?" Ayumi asked.

"He said it will start as soon as she can make it there." Anna replied.

"Then we shouldn't waste time. You should start training as soon as possible." Ayumi said while looking over at me.

I looked over at her for a few moments as a frown appeared on my lips. I sighed and spoke.

"Ayumi, sorry to burst your bubble but I can't do that."

"What's the problem this time? You've completed your exams." she asked me with confusion on her face.

"It's my parents. I may have taken the national exam and the exam for Tokyo University but I'm also being forced to do something else." I said with a frown.

"What else could you possibly have to do now? You're done with your exams, and they're permitting you to have free time."

I paused for a moment and decided to just tell everyone what was going on.

It wasn't like I had much of a choice at this point. Ayumi would want a better answer than I wanted to give. If I only told her my parents wouldn't allow me to go, she would try to convince me to talk to them about it. This wasn't something I could talk to my parents about. They had made their decision and there was nothing I could do about it.

"I'm being forced to go to marriage interviews."

The room was silent for a few moments before everyone except Anna shouted at me with shocked expressions on their faces.

"What?!"

Anna just looked over at me with a hint of surprise on her face. The fact she had taken her eyes off the television was enough to tell me she was also extremely surprised by the news.

"Are you serious?" Manta asked me in surprise.

"You know how competitive they are Manta. They want me to marry one of their business partner's sons. In other words, they want me to marry into a prominent family like your mother did." I said with a sigh.

He had a taste of how competitive my parents were due to the way they acted around his family but he doesn't know how competitive they really are. They'll do anything to prove to our grandfather we're better than Manta's family. Anything...

"But to take it to this extreme..." he said with a concerned expression on his face.

"There is nothing more important to them than their business and family name." I said honestly.

"What about you?" Manta asked after a few moments.

"What about me?" I asked as I looked him in the eye.

"Do you want to do this?"

"No." I said with a sigh.

"Do they know that?" he asked with concern on his face again.

"Yes."

Of course they knew...

Manta was silent for a few moments along with everyone else until he spoke again.

"Are they willing to do it even if it means sacrificing your happiness?"

"Yes. No matter what, they want me to choose a suitor even if I find out there's no possibility of falling in love with any of them." I said bluntly with a guarded expression on my face.

Manta silently stared at me with a sad expression on his face. Even Ryu and his gang were quiet while they watched the conversation take place in front of them.

I forced a fake smile on my lips and spoke.

"Who knows, I might be able to fall for someone in the group of people they've chosen for me. It could work out just like it did for Yoh and Anna. The only thing I can do at this point is hope that happens." I said as I gripped my hands tightly together underneath the table.

Manta and Ryu's gang didn't seem convinced and I wasn't either. Something told me what I said wouldn't happen. I've had nothing but a bad feeling about it since the day they told me the news.

Yoh, however, smiled at me and spoke.

"Yeah. It'll work out."

My eyes widened in surprise as I stared at him.

Would it really? Why do I have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach when I think about it? It worried me.

"Speaking of your parents..." Manta said before he trailed off.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"They don't really seem like the type of people who would allow you to become a shaman. I also know they wouldn't appreciate the fact we are friends." Manta said.

"Why not Manta?" Yoh asked in confusion.

I decided to answer for him.

"My parents are overly competitive when it comes to the approval of our grandfather. They seem to have some sort of misconception that if we perform better than the Oyamada's, my family will gain his favor. I've been told from a very young age that Manta's family are my enemies and that I must excel over Manta and his sister in everything."

"Really?" Manta asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. However, you and I know it's all a bunch of nonsense. Grandpa isn't like that."

Manta nodded his head in agreement and I spoke again to answer one of his questions.

"My parents don't actually know we're friends, and I want to keep it that way for the time being. I don't know what they'd do if they found out. To be honest, I try not to think about it."

"What about the fact you're a shaman?" Ayumi asked.

"They... They have a special aversion to the subject of shamans. If they found out I was friends with Yoh or Anna, well... I can take a guess on what would happen and it wouldn't be good. They don't know I'm a shaman and that's a secret I intend to keep for as long as possible. In fact, I'd prefect for them to never know. I like my freedom." I said with a neutral expression on my face.

"Your freedom?" Ball Boy asked in confusion.

I shook my head and forced a relaxed smile on my face as I spoke again.

"It's nothing. Let's talk about something else."

Manta looked like he wanted to ask something else but he decided not to and for that I was grateful. He could tell I didn't want to talk about my parents. In fact, everyone could tell I didn't want to.

The rest of the night all of us hung out with each other but there was an invisible tension in the air. Yoh seemed to be the only one who wasn't affected by the previous conversation...

A few nights later Manta, Yoh, and I were walking down the street with the spirit next to me after grocery shopping.

I had been working out before Yoh decided to go shopping so my outfit was a red t-shirt, black sweat pants and sneakers. My hair was up in a high ponytail to keep it off the back of my neck.

I was eating an ice cream cone while Yoh was enjoying a chocolate ice cream stick.

"You cheated with the change from the errand and ate at a snack bar. You'll get punished by Anna." Manta said.

"It's okay. You're the one in charge of shopping so you'll be the one who'll be punished." Yoh said with a smile.

An amused expression appeared on my face as I glanced over at him while Manta looked at him freaked out.

"What did you say?!" Manta shouted.

Yoh suddenly stopped as he made a sound of confusion. Manta and I looked in front of us and an extremely confused expression appeared on my face. I could feel the spirits confusion as well.

There was a snowman in front of us. That shouldn't be a problem but right now it was summer...

"A snowman..." Yoh said.

"Yeah." Manta and I said.

"It's summer right now, right?"

"Yeah."

"Manta. (Name)."

"Yes?"

"What's this?" Yoh asked as he pointed over at the light pole that was next to us with his ice cream.

There was a boy around Yoh's and Manta's age sitting on the ground at the side of the street with his back against the pole.

He had spiked up blue hair that was held up by a black headband. Even though it was summer he was wearing a white, blue, and red skiing jacket. He also had on a pair of dark blue shorts. Interestingly enough, all of his clothes had Ainu styled patterns on them. There was something long and rectangular shaped strapped to his upper body.

He was also currently unconscious.

A very familiar feeling came over me like it had with Yoh and Ren. He felt similar to them.

"Oh, it's a person." Manta said.

"I see. A person." Yoh said in a relaxed way.

I looked over at him with an incredulous expression on my face.

Is that really the way you're supposed to react in a situation like this?!

"I see... Eh?! A person?!" Manta shouted once he realized what was going on.

Manta quickly ran in front of the boy and looked at him with a worried expression on his face.

"I wonder what's wrong. Is he sick? Is he injured? Maybe we should call an ambulance?" Manta suggested.

"Probably." I said in agreement as I stood next to him.

"Is he lost?" Yoh asked as he crouched down in front of the boy.

After that Yoh let out a laugh and spoke.

"What a funny hair style."

"Not that! You're supposed to worry when a person is down like this!" Manta shouted angrily as he pointed at him.

"Yeah." I said as I nodded my head in agreement.

Suddenly the boy's stomach growled loudly.

"I see..." Yoh said as he stuffed his ice cream partially into his mouth.

He dug through the shopping bag he had been carrying before he took out a raw piece of fish and put it on the hook of a fishing pole.

"Sooto, sooto." Yoh carefully said while holding the fishing pole in his hands.

Manta and I looked at him with sweat drops on the back of our heads.

"Um... What are you doing, Yoh? Moreover, where did you get that fishing rod?" Manta asked.

Yoh laughed before the boy yelled out. I looked over at him with a freaked out expression as the boy suddenly chomped down on the fish like some sort of wild animal.

"Yes!" Yoh shouted as he stood up and pulled back on the fishing pole.

A look of extreme disbelief appeared on my face as I watched the boy fly up into the air. He quickly came crashing down onto the snowman in front of us. That's when I realized there was a snowboard with an Ainu symbol on it leaning up against the snowman.

What is he doing with a snowboard in the middle of summer?

"A snowboard?" Manta asked as he noticed it as well.

"What a tough opponent." Yoh said with a sigh.

A deadpanned expression appeared on my face and Manta fell to the ground in disbelief.

Yoh was really unbelievable sometimes...

We took the boy to Yoh's place where Ryu cooked him a massive meal. In the mean time, Ayumi decided to train me for a little while. When I finished my training, I headed back inside of the house.

"Ah!" I heard someone shout from the bathroom in the hallway as I was walking down it.

The boy from before suddenly ran into the hallway with his pants and underwear around his ankles. I stared at him in shock and embarrassment as I froze. My voice caught in my throat and I found myself unable to think straight.

Don't look down! Do not look down!

"Wh-What's wrong?" Manta asked from the doorway to the living room.

"Wh-What is that guy?" the boy asked.

I watched Manta walk into the bathroom before I heard him laugh almost hysterically due to what he saw.

"This person is Tamegoro-san, the family head of the previous owners of this house." Manta said once he calmed down.

The boy's eyes widened as a look of surprise appeared on his face.

"You can see spirits too?" Manta asked.

"See?" Yoh said to Ryu.

I was still too shocked to really realize what was going on.

Don't look-! Oh my, I looked down!

"Ah!" I screamed out with a massive blush on my cheeks.

I fell backward onto the floor feeling faint.

"What? Ah! (Name)!" Manta shouted as he ran towards me.

He grabbed my shoulders and shook them.

"(Name), snap out of it!" Ayumi shouted.

I can't unsee what I've already seen!

"Put your pants on!" Ryu shouted at the boy.

"Y-Yes!" the boy shouted.

The spirit was also annoyed, and it wouldn't surprise me if he was yelling at the boy.

"(Name)! (Name)!" Manta continued to shout at my fallen form as I fainted.

I opened my eyes and saw I was lying on the floor in the living room. Yoh, Manta, Ryu, and the blue haired boy were sitting at the small round table.

That was the worst and most embarrassing second impression I've ever had to encounter. I've never fainted like that before. Of course, I've never seen a guy practically naked before either.

I groaned and slowly sat up as the spirits presence completely engulfed me. When the blue haired boy looked over at me, a large blush appeared on both of our faces and I looked away unable to keep eye contact with him.

"(Name)!" Ayumi said in relief.

"Yo!" Yoh said with a grin on his face.

He was acting as if nothing had just happened.

"H-Hey." I stuttered with a nervous smile on my lips.

Once I was actually able to sit at the table between Manta and Ryu, I looked at the boy as I fought off my embarrassment. It was then I saw his eyes were black.

"So... I'm sorry for the lack of formality, but my name is Horohoro. You really saved me." he said as he pointed to himself with his thumb.

"Horo..." Ryu started saying.

"Horo?" Manta asked.

Yoh laughed and spoke.

"That's a funny name. If you add dots, it will be Boroboro."

My eyes widened in realization. Before I could stop myself, I let out a laugh as Horohoro looked at us embarrassed. He quickly recovered from his embarrassment and then looked at us annoyed.

I wonder how often he gets this insult. I'm sure he doesn't like being called worn out, old and crappy, sleazy, cheap, etc.

"Nice one!" Ryu said while also laughing.

"S-Stop it. It'll be bad if you laugh." Manta said while trying to stop us from laughing.

"Laugh if you want to." Horohoro said annoyed.

"You guys are horrible." I said while trying to stop myself from laughing anymore.

"You're laughing with them!" Horohoro shouted at me annoyed.

It took the three of us a few more moments to stop before Horohoro spoke again.

"So, who are you guys?"

"Sorry, sorry. I'm Yoh. Yoh Asakura." Yoh said with a smile.

Ryu suddenly became serious as he brushed his hands through his hair and then pointed at himself.

"Call me Ryu of the Wooden Sword."

"I'm (First Name) (Last Name)." I said with a shy smile as I introduced myself.

"I-I'm Manta Oyamada." Manta said politely.

"You're..." Horohoro said with an unreadable expression on his face.

Suddenly he launched himself towards Manta with a stream of tears coming from his eyes while knocking off all the food and tea from the table.

"Kururu! I wanted to see you! Where did you go?! I was so lonely!" Horohoro shouted.

"Wh-What are you talking about?!" Manta shouted in shock.

When Horohoro calmed down, we cleaned up the mess and placed more tea and food onto the table before we calmly sat down around it.

"Sorry. You resembled a person I know so my habit took over."

"What kind of habit?" Ryu asked while looking at him incredulously.

"Who in the world could look like Manta? There aren't many people with his stature." I asked with an incredulous look of my own.

"What was that?!" Manta shouted at me annoyed.

I just gave a nervous laugh before Manta looked back over at Horohoro and spoke.

"By the way, from the sound of the names of Horohoro and Kururu, could you possibly have come from Ainu?" Manta asked.

"Speaking of which, the designs on his clothing are definitely..." Ryu said as he finally took notice of it.

A smirk appeared on Horohoro's face and he spoke.

"Yeah, that's right. I am a member of the proud Ainu tribe, who live with the great Mother Nature, from the vast plain in the north. I have something I must do in Tokyo so I journeyed by hitch-hiking. I made folk crafts and sold them for money for food for several days. And I finally arrived in Tokyo. But... I had to go to the bathroom, and someone stole my stuff while I was gone. So that's how it was." he said before tears began to stream down his cheeks again.

"Your belongings were stolen from you." Manta said as we all gave him sympathetic looks.

"I had heard rumors that Tokyo was a very dangerous place but I never thought this would happen so soon."

"I see..." Ryu and I said sympathetically.

"I looked very hard for my things, but I couldn't find them. And eventually, I became hungry and..." Horohoro said before he trailed off.

"You were down at that place." Manta finished for him.

"You lead a hard life too, Boroboro." Yoh said with water falls of tears going down his face and onto the table.

"Yeah, that's right." Horohoro said.

"Y-Yoh." I said while trying to keep a straight face.

Horohoro realized what he said and threw his tea cup at Yoh as hard as he could.

"Who's Boroboro?!" Horohoro shouted angrily.

My eyes widened in shock as Yoh fell back onto the floor.

"Wah, how cruel!" Manta said nervously.

Yoh quickly sat up and we looked at him in disbelief.

"Alright! Then you can stay in this house until you find your belongings." Yoh said.

"Really?" Horohoro asked in surprise.

"Yeah. This place was originally an inn. There are lots of rooms so stay as long as you like."

"What a great master!" Ryu said deeply touched as tears streamed down his face.

"T-Thanks!" Horohoro said close to tears while leaning across the table and holding Yoh's hands.

"No!" Anna said as she suddenly slid the door open loudly.

"Anna!" Ryu, Manta, and Yoh shouted in surprise and horror.

I forgot about her... There's no way she'd approve with the others also living here.

"You were b-back, Anna?" Yoh asked nervously.

"We aren't that wealthy to let that stranger stay." Anna said with her arms crossed over her chest.

"That's...!" Ryu started to say as Yoh stood up.

"Boroboro is in trouble right now." Yoh said as he tried to convince her to let him stay.

"It's Horohoro." Horohoro said.

"Well... If you really want to stay, you must obey my orders." Anna said.

Horohoro sat on the edge of the table and spoke.

"No problem!"

She immediately began to list off all of the things he had to do in order to stay while we looked at him with sympathy.

"Now she's done it." Ryu said.

"We have another tenant." Manta said.

"I'm sorry, Boroboro." Yoh said.

"Poor guy." I said with a sigh.

"Okay!" Horohoro agreed once she was finished with her long list.

Yoh sighed and closed his eyes and then Horohoro whispered to him.

"Hey, your sister seems to have a strict personality."

"No, Anna's..." Yoh started saying.

"I'm not his sister. I'm his fiancée." Anna said before she walked out of the room.

Horohoro looked like he was completely devastated by the news. His body turned to stone for a moment and then he fell onto his hands and knees on top of the table.

"I've lost." Horohoro said obviously depressed.

"Forget that. Get off the tea table already." Ryu said.

"Yeah..."

The next day, the spirit and I were walking down the street when I noticed Anna marching off in the opposite direction a little farther ahead of us. We were only a few houses away from Yoh's house.

"I wonder who made her mad this time." I said with a nervous laugh.

Hopefully it doesn't mean even more training for Yoh and me. It was already brutal enough.

The afternoon sun was beating down on me as I continued to walk towards Yoh's house and I couldn't wait to get inside. It was extremely hot now it was summer again.

To fight off the heat, I was wearing a purple tank top and a pair of Bermuda shorts. On my feet I had on a pair of sandals. My workout clothes were all inside of a bag I was carrying.

Despite the fact I was dressed for the weather, it really wasn't helping since it was the end of July.

"Hey! Horohoro!" I heard Yoh shout.

"Hey! Don't scare me! I thought she came back!" I heard Horohoro shout angrily just as I made it to the entrance of the gate surrounding the property.

Yoh laughed in response and I looked up at him as I came to a stop behind Horohoro. He was lazily resting on the windowsill of one of the windows on the second floor of the house. His left arm was loosely hanging outside while he propped his head up with his right hand.

"Then let us go as well."

"Go?"

"To search for your belongings."

"Y-Yeah." Horohoro said in surprise.

I let out a tired sigh and spoke.

"I was looking forward to being in the house. It's too hot out here." I said tiredly.

Horohoro let out a shout of surprise.

"Hey! Don't sneak up on people like that!" Horohoro shouted at me annoyed causing me to jump a little while I stared at him with wide eyes.

"S-Sorry." I said timidly.

Yoh had a grin on his face when he and Manta walked out of the house and he spoke to me.

"Let's go before Ayumi notices that you're here."

"What are we going to do later when Anna and Ayumi get annoyed because we didn't train?"

"Don't you want to help Horohoro?"

"Of course I do." I said with a nod.

"Then let's go." he said with a relaxed smile.

We quickly left the house and made our way towards the main part of town in order to look for Horohoro's things.

It wouldn't be harmful to skip training for one day. Besides, I did want to help Horohoro out. Ayumi would probably understand I just wasn't so sure about Anna.

"Well then, let's start from the place where you lost it." Yoh said once we made it to town.

Horohoro led us to the spot where he had left all of his stuff and retold the story of how he lost his things. We asked around to see if anyone knew where his stuff was but no one seemed to know anything. In the end, we were forced to sit down on a shaded bench to get out of the heat.

"By the way, why did you come to Tokyo?" Manta asked Horohoro.

"To make a big dream come true!" he replied enthusiastically.

"Dream? A comedian?" Yoh asked.

"What did you say?!" Horohoro shouted at him annoyed.

I laughed in response. Yoh was being completely serious right now.

"Then...?" Manta asked to hint he wanted him to elaborate.

"My dream is something more tremendously big!" he said enthusiastically again.

"Big dream..." Yoh said.

"But forget that... It's really hot!" Manta said while panting with sweat all over his face.

"Yeah." I said in agreement.

"We don't have any leads, either." Yoh said.

"Well, I didn't expect it to go easily." Horohoro said.

"Hey, Horohoro, about that story earlier..." Yoh said.

"It's a flower." Horohoro suddenly said.

He was staring down at a small purple flower that was growing between a pole and the cement of the sidewalk.

"You're right. It's impressive that it grows in a place like this." Manta said.

"It's pretty." Yoh said.

"Yeah, it is." I said as I agreed with both of them.

"Yeah, but... I feel sorry for it." Horohoro said.

"Horohoro?" Manta asked.

Why does he feel sorry for it? What is he thinking about?

We stayed there for a little while longer and then continued to look for his lost stuff for the rest of the day. But, in the end, we came out empty handed. The sun was starting to set when we found a small bench where we could see a view of the city as we watched it go down.

Horohoro chose to sit on top of the metal fence in front of us as Yoh, Manta, and I sat down on the bench to enjoy the view.

"I want to help the Koro Pokkuru." Horohoro said.

"Koro Pokkuru?" Yoh asked.

Manta flipped through his book and found a page that talked about them.

"Here it is. They're spirits that were thought to be living under coltsfoot in the northern lands." Manta said.

"Spirits..." Yoh said.

If Koro Pokkuru are spirits, then he must be a shaman. My feeling about him was right after all.

"They lived together with us, and we lived in harmony with nature. Ways to live in nature, laws... They taught us many things. Born with water, cultivate with wind, be respectful to fire, and return to the earth. Humans must live in balance with nature. That's what we were taught. But...!"

Horohoro stood up and turned around to face us as he swung his right arm out towards the city.

"Is this a balanced form?! This city of steel?! Because of the endless urbanization, nature is rapidly vanishing. The Koro Pokkuru are losing their habitat. It takes hundreds of years to recover the nature you destroy."

He angrily slammed the side of his fist down onto the fence behind him.

"I think that something has to be done about this. I know humans have their own conditions, but I can't just sit by and watch nature and the Koro Pokkuru go extinct!"

A small smile appeared on my lips.

He really is kind. I've never really had a chance to think about it but maybe he's right. Ling used to complain about endless urbanization from time to time. Even Ren said it was annoying that he couldn't see the stars because of the city lights. Whenever I would go into the woods with Ling as a kid, it was nice. It felt good to be outside of the city. If that disappeared because of urbanization, all we would have is the city. It would take hundreds of years to be able to get something like that back, if it even could completely recover.

"So you came to Tokyo to start an anti-urbanization movement?" Manta asked.

Horohoro became extremely annoyed and walked over to us. He stomped his foot down onto the bench between Manta and me. My eyes widened in surprise while Manta looked at him with a freaked out expression.

"My dream isn't that, nor is it to become a comedian! It's something much bigger!"

"I think you'd make a good comedian." Yoh said.

I made a sound as I tried not to laugh.

"Shut up already!" Horohoro shouted before he smacked Yoh on the head with his fist.

Manta and I looked at him with freaked out expressions.

"Listen carefully. My dream is to create a vast land filled with coltsfoot!" Horohoro shouted boldly as he raised his left arm over his head and pointed at the sky.

All of us were silent. Yoh and Manta tried to distance themselves from him and spoke at the same time.

"Tiny."

"It's not tiny! It's for nature, for the Koro Pokkuru!" Horohoro shouted with tears streaming from his eyes as he put his face close to ours.

I let out a surprised yell from his outburst. Horohoro suddenly fell to the ground depressed with his back to us.

"And yet these guys... Exactly from 120 to 130, 1 minute and 40 seconds was spent to explain to these guys..." Horohoro said to himself.

"Um, hello?" Manta asked nervously as he tried to get his attention.

I watched Yoh walk over to Horohoro with a water fall of tears coming from both his eyes. He crouched down and placed his right hand on his shoulder.

"Horohoro, what a nice guy you are." Yoh said.

Manta fell off the bench and crashed down onto the ground in disbelief. When he recovered, he stood up and spoke.

"But even if you come to Tokyo, there's something you won't be able to do. I think..."

Horohoro suddenly became extremely nervous.

"Well... Um... That's... I doubt you'd understand it even if I told you." he said before he let out a sound of nervousness.

I looked at him in confusion.

Why is he so nervous all of a sudden?

He stood up from his spot on the grass and spoke.

"Let's go back. We won't be able to search anymore today."

On the way to Yoh's house, Horohoro's words kept playing through my mind. To be in harmony with nature means to be one with the elements and to be in balance with them. If what Horohoro said is true, I wonder if becoming one with the elements and nature is the answer to being able to use them. I had the strong urge to try it out and see. I had a feeling I needed to try it as soon as possible.

"Ayumi?" I called out the second we arrived back at Yoh's house.

"Yes?" she asked as she appeared in front of me.

She could tell there was something going through my mind as I placed my bag down onto the floor of the entryway.

"Can we go somewhere really quick? I want to try something."

"Sure." she said while staring at me with a confused expression her face.

"(Name)?" Manta asked me in confusion.

"It's fine. I'll be back in a little bit." I said to him, Yoh, and Horohoro with a smile.

They nodded their heads even though it was obvious they were confused.

I could feel the spirits confusion as we headed back out of the house together with Ayumi in tow. A feeling in my gut suddenly took over me and I found myself back at Funbari Cemetery. I walked up the stairs and over to Amidamaru's headstone as the sky turned dark.

"You really can see the stars here." I said softly while I stared up at the sky.

It was extremely peaceful where we were.

I felt like right now would be my only chance to see if I really could control the elements without formal training. Ayumi says I've shown the ability to control wind since the spirit seems to be able to use it even though he isn't a nature spirit. I wanted to see if I really could. I wanted to know.

I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths. The wind is something that can't be seen and isn't solid. Despite that, it has enough strength to gradually wear away mountains. It also has the capability of pushing people away like the spirit has done with me so many times.

The only way this would work is if I become one with the wind and be balance with it...

I stood there for a moment while trying to decide the best course of action. In the end, I decided to think of the feeling of the wind against my skin. It wasn't hard to do. The wind was something I had grown accustomed to being around.

While I was thinking of it, I started to feel the wind surround me.

"(Name)?" Ayumi whispered in surprise.

The spirit was also surprised by the sudden turn of events.

I continued imagining the wind in my mind and once I felt it become stronger, I opened my eyes. My focus was only on the feeling of the wind on my skin as it surrounded me and blew through my hair and clothes. After a few moments, a strange feeling came over me. I felt light and free. It was like I could fly into the air at any moment.

The wind suddenly increased in power and blew around me like a tornado. My hair was whipping around wildly along with my purple tank top as an excited smile appeared on my lips. It was warm and comforting like the spirit and yet it was also powerful.

Its strength increased once again and this time I felt my feet leave the ground as the wind slowly pushed me up into the air. I was about 15 feet up when it stopped. For the first time in my life, I felt light just like the wind.

"(Name)!" Ayumi shouted.

I turned around in midair to look down at her floating form. A grin appeared on my lips while she looked up at me in disbelief.

It felt like someone was staring at me and I looked up at the building on the other side of the bridge. Ren was on top of the roof with a look of amazement on his face as I continued to float in the air. The wind I was creating was strong enough his purple hair was lightly being blown around. He had grown a little since the time of our last encounter. The moment our eyes met, I ended up getting lost in them. His gold eyes drew me into them for some reason.

As a result, my concentration broke and I started to fall. My eyes widened in alarm along with his and I made a sound of surprise. My first response was to look down. I let out a scream when I realized I was going to fall off the edge of the cliff and tightly closed my eyes.

"(Name)!" I heard Ayumi and a familiar female voice shout in alarm.

I felt someone grab onto my left hand before I came to a halt but my feet were still dangling in the air. With a little hesitation, I opened my eyes and looked up. Jun was holding my hand in both of hers with a tense and desperate look on her face.

"Wh-What? Jun?!" I asked in surprise.

She saved me?

She was struggling to keep a hold of my hand. I knew she wanted to pull me up but it didn't seem like she could do it on her own.

I heard footsteps as they hurried over to us and Ren suddenly appeared at the edge of the cliff. It was the last thing I expected. What surprised me even further was the worried expression on his face.

He quickly placed himself down onto the ground and offered me his hand.

"Grab my hand!" Ren ordered.

"Wh-What?" I asked with obvious surprise.

"Do you want to die?!" he shouted at me.

"N-No."

"Then grab my hand already." he said impatiently with an annoyed expression on his face.

I quickly did as he requested and grabbed his hand with my right one. They pulled me back up on to the small piece of land and I instantly felt relief.

There were many things going through my mind. Ren, Jun, and the wind I created. Ayumi was right, I can control the elements. I can control the wind at least. I knew, though, if I could control one then I could probably control others like she said.

"(Name)! You idiot!" Ayumi said as she yelled at me.

My eyes widened in surprise as I looked over at her. I had temporarily forgotten she was even here. She was staring at me with anger and worry clearly written on her face.

"You were right! I can do it!" I said with disbelief in my voice.

"What? Of course you can do it! I already told you that you could! You idiot! What in the hell possessed you to do something like that?!" she shouted at me.

"I... I wanted to know if it was true. I had a feeling that I needed to try it tonight. There's no way I would have found out before I had formal training if I didn't."

"Why are we at Amidamaru's headstone out of all places?! You could have chosen some place safer like my headstone! There isn't a cliff over there!"

"My feet just led me here."

She let out an annoyed scoff and spoke.

"I'm not sure if your gut feeling is trying to get you killed or what! There are times I'm happy you follow your gut feeling, like the time you set me free, but right now I'm not! You could have been killed! Next time use your common sense and don't do something like this again!"

"Y-Yes... Sorry." I said to her apologetically.

We heard someone clear their throat in annoyance and we looked over and saw Ren standing next to us with a familiar glare on his face. Jun was also standing next to him while looking at me with a questioning gaze.

"Hello. How are you?" I said with an awkward wave as I smiled at them.

I could tell they were taken off guard by the question as perplexed expressions appeared on their faces.

Ayumi quickly stood in front of me protectively, and that's when I realized the spirit wasn't right next to me like he usually was. I knew he was somewhere near us but he had gone into hiding again.

"What did you just do?" Ren asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Crap, what am I supposed to do? They weren't supposed to see that.

"Don't play stupid. You know what I'm talking about." he said as the glare appeared on his face again.

I quickly decided to move the conversation into my favor.

"I could ask the same of you two."

"What?" Jun asked while Ren silently glared at me.

"Why did you guys save me?"

She was silent for a few moments as she thought about her answer.

"You and Yoh Asakura will give us the answer." she replied.

"Like I told you before, they won't. I'll kill them both before they have the chance." Ren replied calmly.

"If you want me dead so much, why did you help her save me?" I asked.

It was a legitimate question. I thought he didn't really like me.

"I'm going to be the one to kill you. I won't allow it any other way." he stated.

"I see." I said with a sweat drop at the back of my head.

I stood up as I continued to look at the two Tao siblings. Even if his reason isn't the best, at least I'm still alive. That does count for something. I technically owed them one.

"You're avoiding my question!" Ren shouted at me annoyed.

His spike increased in length as he pulled out his Kwan Dao and pointed it at me. Bason appeared behind him. I blinked at Ren for a few moments while I stared at his hair until I spoke.

"D-Did your hair just...?" I said while trying to keep a straight face.

I failed miserably and burst out laughing.

Ren looked at me with confusion, surprise, and then annoyance as a blush appeared on his cheeks. My reaction seemed to make him even more annoyed.

"What are you laughing at?!" he shouted as his hair increased a little more in length.

Tears actually started to come to the corner of my eyes and I held my stomach as I continued to laugh even louder than before.

"Please! Stop! Don't make me laugh anymore!" I said while continuing to howl with laughter.

Jun covered her mouth with her right hand while she tried to hold back a smile as she looked at the scene in front of her in amusement. Bason was managing to keep a straight face but even he had an amused look in his eyes while observing us. Ayumi was simply staring at me with her mouth hanging open in disbelief.

Eventually, I was forced to turn my back to him in order to calm down. I couldn't stop myself from bursting out into laughter every time I would catch a glimpse of his hair. Once I was able to calm down a little, I spoke with a chuckle as I turned around and wiped the tears from the corner of my eyes.

"Sorry, I couldn't stop myself. I forgot I heard your hair could do that when you were mad." I said with a grin.

"Why are you so relaxed around them?! He even has his Kwan Dao pointed at you!" Ayumi shouted at me in disbelief.

"They're not bad people." I said with a small smile while looking at them.

Now more than ever, I knew that.

They gave me looks I couldn't describe and Ren lowered his weapon a little.

I knew they were confused by my words and actions. They probably also didn't understand why they saved me. They were starting to change even if it was just a little. I doubt they would have saved me before. As a matter of fact, I think they would have just attacked me the second they saw me.

"We should probably head to Yoh's place for dinner. You know how Anna is." I said to Ayumi.

I started to walk away from them and crossed the bridge.

"Wait!" Ayumi called out to me in surprise.

Once I reached the other side of the bridge, I stopped walking as a thought occurred to me. I turned around to look at Jun and Ren as Ayumi made it over to my side. Their expressions hadn't really changed. I could tell they were still trying to understand what had just happened, especially Jun.

"See you guys later and thanks for saving me. I owe you one." I said with a gentle smile and a wave.

I turned around and headed back towards Yoh's place with Ayumi. The spirit made his way back to my side once I walked through the cemetery gates.

My mind envisioned the looks on their faces over and over again. Even as I arrived home and lied down on the bed to go to sleep that night, I couldn't get it out of my head. They looked genuinely shocked and confused by my gratitude.

 _"They don't believe in the kindness of this world. They don't know how to trust others."_

Those words echoed through my mind as I fell asleep that night along with the memory of Ren's surprised and worry filled eyes.


	15. Chapter 15: Dream?

**A/N:**

IT'S FINALLY HERE! Sorry for making all of you wait so long. I'll try not to make you wait so long for the next one. I've been extremely busy. Even though I didn't update for a while, I can assure all of you that I won't stop writing this story until it's over. I've read my own fair share of stories where I wished an author would finish and yet years later they haven't for various reasons so I know what it feels like. I hope you all enjoy this chapter! If you like it, add it to your favorite and follow it. Also, if you want to, comment! I really like reading what all of you think of my story.

I do want to say thank you to everyone who has decided to stick with me and this story despite the long wait. Thank you for all of the support so far!

I also want to say that I update my profile periodically in order to update my readers on what's happening with my stories. If you're wondering what's going on, please check it out.

* * *

 **Chapter 15: Dream?**

I stood in front of the restaurant feeling extremely nervous about what was going to take place in a few minutes.

This was my first marriage interview...

My father was currently parking the car while my mother and I waited for him. Apparently they had decided they were also going to go to my interviews, probably to make sure I didn't do anything that they deemed unsuitable. The only thing that was keeping me relatively calm was the spirit whose presence was wrapped around me like a blanket.

For the occasion I was forced to dress nice to make a good impression. I had on a formal lacy navy blue off the shoulder short sleeved A-line dress that reached down to my knees. On my feet I had on a pair of nice black flats. My shoulder blade length hair was down in ringlets.

As for my parents, they were wearing their usual business attire.

"Let's go," my father said once he made it over to us.

I tried to fight off my nervousness as we walked into the restaurant. The moment we made it to the front counter, we were greeted by a waiter who gave us a polite smile.

"We have a reservation," my father said.

He pulled out a book and spoke.

"What's the name?"

"(Last Name)."

"Ah, yes," he said once he found the name he was looking for. "The other person in your group was just led to your table. Please, follow me."

I wanted to run away but I forced myself to walk forward as I followed my parents and the man over to a secluded table in another room.

The man at the table wasn't ugly, but he wasn't drop dead gorgeous either. Simply average. He had short neat black hair and dark brown eyes. Like my father, he was wearing a business suit. It seemed like he was around twenty years old.

When we reached the table, he stood up to greet us.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. (Last Name)," he said politely as he shook their hands.

"Are you Hayato's son?" my father asked.

I had to stop a scowl from coming to my face.

My parents were actually setting me up with people they haven't even met?! They should at least have the decency to set me up with people they've met before!

"Yes," he said with a nod.

I could tell my parents were closely observing him to see if he was satisfactory. He may be one of my parents' business partner's sons but that didn't mean they would approve.

While I silently brooded about the situation, the man looked over at me.

"Are you (Name)?" he asked.

"Yes," I said with a polite nod as I gave him a pleasant smile.

It wasn't like this was his fault. I wasn't going to take my annoyance out on him. Besides, if I did I would definitely be in trouble when we made it back home. That's not really something I want to deal with.

He gave me a good long look then nodded his head and introduced himself.

"Yuki Sato. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too," I said politely.

After that the interview began. My parents did most of the talking as they asked him offhanded questions and talked about business. It didn't take me long to begin zoning out. Instead, my mind seemed to drift to what happened last night with Ren and Jun.

I couldn't seem to get Ren's eyes out of my head or forget the fact I was able to produce wind. Ren, however, was what my mind seemed to want to focus on. Why I couldn't get a 14-year-old boy out of my head was beyond me. The only conclusion I could come up with was that it was because I wanted to help him and Jun. It also didn't help that whenever he was around I felt drawn to him.

It wasn't until the marriage interview ended that I was knocked out of my thoughts.

"He's not suitable," my mother said once we were inside of the car. "He doesn't seem to have the same motivation his father does."

My father nodded his head in agreement.

I was a little grateful for their immediate dismissal of him. It wasn't that I had a problem with him. In fact, I didn't even know him. That was the problem. I didn't even listen to their conversation to find out anything about him. I had been too focused on Ren.

I'll have problems deciding who I'm going to marry if all my interviews turn out like this. On the other hand, I'm not entirely sure if I'll really get an option to choose. From the looks of it, my parents are taking an active role in _helping_ me pick my future husband.

"I suggest you pay more attention next time (Name)," my father said as he knocked me out of my thoughts.

"What?" I asked in surprise as I looked over at him.

There was a stern expression on his face while he looked at me through the rear view mirror. A neutral expression appeared on my face as nervousness bubbled up inside of me while I stared at him.

"I can read you like an open book. It didn't take much to notice you weren't paying attention."

My mother nodded her head in agreement then spoke with a stern expression of her own.

"Next time we expect you to play a more active roll in the interview."

"...Yes mother," I said softly with a stiff nod.

She nodded her head in satisfaction, and my father started the car.

A heavy feeling came to my heart as I turned my head and stared out of the passenger window. I couldn't help but feel a sense of hopelessness due to the situation. I knew that even if I did fall for one of the men they had chosen that nothing could come of it if my parents didn't approve. How could I play an active roll when I knew that? They were going to be the one's who ultimately decided who I was going to marry, not me...

We came to a stop at a red light and I was suddenly hit by that strong and all too familiar feeling of someone calling out to me. I gazed over at the corner of the sidewalk and noticed Ren standing there amongst a crowd of people in his usual outfit. As if he could sense I was here, he looked over at me and I noticed a hint of surprise appear on his face.

I wanted to acknowledge him by giving him a smile or a small wave but I was too afraid to with my parents in the car. He seemed to notice my change in behavior because I could see a little confusion appear on his face. Luckily, the light decided at that moment to change and my father pushed on the accelerator. I didn't break eye contact with him until he was out of sight...

The moment we made it back to the house, I changed into a pair of jean shorts and a black tank top. Then I headed to Yoh's place with the spirit next to me. I was completely silent since I wasn't in the mood to talk. The though that my parents were going to be the ones who really picked who I was going to marry bothered me a great deal.

When I made it to Yoh's, I found everyone outside with the exception of Ryu and his gang. The scene in front of me though wasn't something I completely expected.

Yoh and Horohoro were on the porch completely worn out from whatever happened today. Horohoro was in a position that reminded me of a dog or cat stretching out with his hind end in the air. Yoh was sitting on the edge of the porch next to him panting in exhaustion with his pants rolled up and pain on his face without his sandals on. Anna was standing in front of him with an annoyed expression on her face and her arms crossed in front of her chest. A part of me was grateful I wasn't here for whatever it was...

What in the hell happened here?

"Geez. You guys are sure weak. Tomorrow we're going with a menu of 1.5 times today's," Anna said.

What?! I don't even know what the training was today but I can already tell it was worse than usual! I don't want to train even harder than that!

"She's a demon," Manta mumbled to himself.

He was sitting on the grass a few feet behind her while looking at Yoh and Horohoro sympathetically.

"What did you say, Manta?" Anna asked.

"Well... Um... N-Nothing," he said nervously.

She made a sound that told me she obviously wasn't convinced before she suddenly picked him up and threw him at Horohoro and Yoh like a football.

"Whoa! Anna, what in the world is going on?!" I shouted in shock as I took a step forward.

She seems a lot more irritable than usual. Why is she on edge? She didn't need to throw people! My cousin is not a football!

"(Name)!" Horohoro, Yoh, and Manta shouted in relief as they looked at me with tears in their eyes.

Why are they all looking at me like I'm some sort of savior or something?

"Hey, guys..." I said with a bewildered expression on my face.

"(Name), let's go inside," Anna suddenly said.

"What?" I asked in confusion.

"In the meantime, you cook dinner!" Anna ordered Horohoro as she pointed at him.

She quickly marched into the house through the backdoor. I looked at the three boys with sympathy but decided to follow her to see what was going on. We made it into the living room and sat down at the small tea table.

"Anna, are you okay? You seem a little on edge," I asked her with concern.

"I don't trust that boy," she said with a serious expression on her face.

There was only one person I knew she could be referring to.

"Horohoro?"

"Yes," she said with a nod.

"Why don't you trust him? What's wrong? I don't get a bad feeling from him."

"You're just like Yoh. You're too trusting," she said with a sigh.

I looked at her in confusion as she grabbed the remote and turned on the television.

That doesn't actually answer my question but I suppose I should just drop it for the time being. If she didn't want to say the reason why, I wasn't going to push the issue. She was already on edge and I didn't want to make it worse...

Ryu, Manta, and Yoh eventually made it over to the tea table, and everyone ate dinner together once it was done. I could see from the expression on her face that Anna was still aggravated. Why doesn't she trust Horohoro? Why was she treating him so harshly? She even made him cook dinner instead of Ryu. It was strange.

As soon as we were done eating, she sent Horohoro into the kitchen to wash the dishes while the rest of us stayed inside of the living room.

"Um... Maybe I should help," Ryu said with concern in his voice.

"No. You just need to stay here," Anna said.

"Well, you say that but he's been cleaning, washing clothes, shopping, massaging. It's seriously dangerous. I too think I should do something for Master Yoh."

"Moreover, what's wrong Anna? Why are you being so harsh on Horohoro? It's not normal," Yoh said.

"Yeah. He came out to Tokyo-" Manta started saying before Anna cut him off as she picked up her cup of tea.

"Don't tell me you believe all he said."

"What do you mean, madam?" Ryu asked.

"He's a shaman," she stated seriously.

Ryu and Manta looked at her in shock while Yoh bit into a cracker.

It wasn't all that much of a shock to me. I figured it out the moment I realized he was trying to help the Koro Pokkuru.

"What does the fact he's a shaman have to do with anything?" I asked.

"There are two reasons why a shaman would be in Tokyo at this time, to enter the Shaman Fight in Tokyo or perhaps to destroy contestants."

But I didn't get a bad feeling from him...

Ryu looked over at Yoh tensely while Manta looked at him with a worried expression on his face.

"T-That's... Then Horohoro came to destroy Yoh," Manta said in concern.

"Isn't it unnatural? How can a shaman be fallen near our house without any reasons?"

I quickly responded.

"Anna, I would think that he would have done something by now if that's the case. He stayed over here just last night. Wouldn't he have done something to Yoh while he was asleep? Besides, I don't get a bad feeling from him."

"Not if he was trying to formulate a plan. I'm sure he's waiting until our guard is down to strike."

"That son of a...!" Ryu said angrily as he stood up and charged into the kitchen.

"I knew it," Yoh said with a calm smile.

"Yoh?" Manta asked.

"That he was a shaman and that he had a secret. Right, Amidamaru?" Yoh said as he pulled out his Mortuary Tablet.

Amidamaru appeared behind him and Manta and spoke.

"That is correct. Lord Horohoro definitely is a shaman with his own main spirit. Unfortunately, I couldn't confirm the main spirit's form," he said calmly.

"I couldn't figure it out either," Ayumi said as she appeared behind me.

"But even still. He's a good guy," Yoh said with a smile.

"Yoh..." Manta said.

"I agree with Yoh," I said as I nodded my head.

"You two sure are some unsalvageable easygoing people," Anna said.

"M-M-Master! He's not here!" Ryu shouted as he ran back into the living room in alarm.

"He's outside, Lord Yoh," Amidamaru said.

"Alright!" Yoh said seriously.

All of us stood up and ran out of the house and headed in the direction Amidamaru told us to go. When we made it to our destination, we stopped running to look at the scene in front of us. Horohoro was standing in the center of a large group of Jiang-Shi that was surrounding him.

"That's the Jiang-Shi of the Tao family!" Manta shouted in surprise and alarm as he pointed at them.

"I knew it," Anna said.

"That little... So he was lying!" Ryu said angrily.

He suddenly charged towards Horohoro in anger with his wooden sword in his hands.

"Wait, Ryu!" I shouted out in worry.

"Wooden Sword of Justice!"

One of the Jiang-Shi surrounding Horohoro suddenly turned around and launched an attack at Ryu with its claw weapon. Ryu used his sword to block its first attack, but was pushed back from the force and lost his weapon as he fell back onto the ground. The Jiang-Shi launched forward in order to attack him with its claw weapon once again for the final blow.

If we didn't do something he was going to be killed!

"Ryu!" all of us shouted in alarm as I started to run towards him.

Some sort of blue energy enveloped Horohoro's snowboard and he was able to use it to glide across the ground. Luckily, he was able to make it over to Ryu and blocked the attack with the bottom of his snowboard. I could only look at him in confusion as I stopped running.

How did he do that? What is that energy?

"Y-You..." Ryu said with shock in his voice.

"These guys are my opponents. You amateurs stay back!" Horohoro shouted at us.

"He wasn't an enemy?" Anna asked in surprise.

A small smile appeared on my lips in response.

I knew Yoh and I were right.

The Jiang-Shi jumped back to join the others and Yoh spoke.

"Let's go, Amidamaru!"

"Whenever you're ready!" Amidamaru shouted while floating in the air behind him.

"Amidamaru! Spirit Ball Mode! Over Soul Merge!" Yoh shouted as he turned Amidamaru into a spirit ball and merged with him.

The Jiang-Shi took the opportunity they had and launched an attack towards Horohoro while his back was turned to them.

"Horohoro!" Manta and I shouted in horror.

He turned around as three of them jumped into the air and soared down towards him. The first one sliced at him but he avoided it as he fell to the ground. Yoh quickly ran towards him and launched an attack of his own. The first Jiang-Shi noticed it just in time and jumped to the side to avoid it while the other two were hit by his attack. It was strong enough to throw them back into a dead tree at the center of the clearing and they were destroyed.

"You were a shaman?" Horohoro asked in surprise.

"What? You didn't notice?" Yoh asked with a smile.

"Yeah. I was surprised and lost my Over Soul Merge. Kororo, you okay?"

I looked down at the spot where Horohoro was looking and saw a small absolutely adorable spirit on the ground with a coltsfoot leaf next to her. She had short black hair and black eyes. There was a pink headband around her head with an Ainu pattern on it. Her outfit was a white kimono with black edging that also had the same Ainu pattern and pink shoes.

She looks like a doll!

"This is my main spirit, Kororo of the Koro Pokkuru," Horohoro said as he introduced her.

"Super pretty!" Ryu shouted with hearts in his eyes.

"Oh my... She's... She's absolutely adorable!" I shouted.

I quickly ran up to her and hugged her to my chest unable to stop myself.

"H-Hey!" Horohoro shouted.

"She your relative, Manta?" Anna asked seriously.

"How rude!" Manta shouted at her annoyed.

I looked over at him and laughed as I released Kororo from my hug then looked back over at her. She just blinked at me as she sat on my hands in a slight daze from me hugging her.

"She's cute," Yoh said with a smile.

"Isn't she? Isn't she?" Horohoro said in agreement.

"Well, she's cute but they're coming," Yoh said as he pointed forward.

Kororo, Horohoro, and I looked in the direction he was pointing. Horohoro and I freaked out the moment we saw the Jiang-Shi launching an attack towards us. I quickly jumped back along with Horohoro and we both landed next to Yoh.

"That was close!" I said with relief.

"Let's go, Yoh," Horohoro said from my left.

"Yeah!" Yoh said before he ran forward.

"Over Soul Merge! Kororo in the Snowboard!" Horohoro shouted as he placed Kororo's spirit inside of his snowboard.

"He put her inside of his snowboard? You can do that?" I asked while looking over at Ayumi in surprise.

"Yes."

"Is there a big difference between the two?"

"Now is not the time to talk! Watch out!" Ayumi shouted.

I looked forward, and a large group of Jiang-Shi launched an attack towards me. The spirit quickly came to my aid and created a massive gust of wind that threw them away from me.

"Thanks," I said to him gratefully.

They quickly jumped back up onto their feet and launched another attack.

"I guess it's time to see how good your training has been Ayumi. Spirit, stay next to me for back up."

"Yes," Ayumi said in agreement as she nodded her head.

"Ayumi! Spirit Ball Mode! Over Soul Merge!" I shouted as I turned her into a purple spirit ball and merged with her.

Ayumi helped guide my body as I dodged the large entourage of attacks that came at me from all directions. Despite being an Itako she was extremely skilled at fighting. I was lucky that she knew how to hold her own even without a weapon at her disposal. All I had to do was hit them and I knew that they would more than likely be destroyed just like all the other Jiang-Shi I've encountered.

"Alright, let's go!" I shouted as I began my own series of attacks.

I managed to hit one of the Jiang-Shi and easily destroyed it as I expected. What I didn't expect was the fact I was able to destroy the Jiang-Shi that were also standing behind the one I just attacked. My training was finally paying off. It was obvious that my attacks were a lot stronger than they were in the past.

"Amazing," I said in awe.

I jumped backwards to dodge another attack and landed on the ground next to Horohoro.

"You're also a shaman?" he asked me in surprise.

"Yeah," I said with a smile.

He and I launched forward along with Yoh and began to continue fighting off the Jiang-Shi.

"Guess the people from the Tao family aren't stupid. These guys are definitely stronger than the Jiang-Shi we've met. We will be at a disadvantage if it lasts long," Anna said.

"N-No," Manta said with worry in his voice.

Yoh, Horohoro and I continued to fight against them but like Anna said these Jiang-Shi were stronger than the others. It wasn't as easy for me to get a hit in and their attacks were stronger.

"This is too troublesome! (Name), get back!" Horohoro shouted.

I quickly did as he asked and jumped away from the group of Jiang-Shi.

"Kororo!" Horohoro shouted.

The air around me became chilly and large pieces of ice began to form in the air. My eyes widened as I stared at him in surprise.

Is this the power of Horohoro's main spirit or can he also control the elements?

"Eat this! Renegade Hail!" Horohoro shouted.

The large pieces of ice flew at the Jiang-Shi and destroyed a majority of them. All of the others along with the dead tree at the center of the clearing were frozen inside of a massive block of ice.

"That's..." Anna said in surprise.

"Blocks of ice?" Manta asked.

"Ayumi?" I asked in amazement.

"We'll talk about it later," she replied.

"O-Okay," I said as I stared at the large block of ice.

I broke my merge with Ayumi and the spirit quickly came to my side. Yoh and Horohoro also broke their Over Soul Merge's and not before too long Anna, Ryu, and Manta made their way over to us.

"Sorry that I got you involved. They probably are the ones who stole my belongings," Horohoro said.

I gave him a deadpanned expression as the others mouths fell open in disbelief.

"Um... I don't think that they're the ones who-"

I didn't have a chance to continue my sentence as he cut me off.

"You must've heard rumors about it, too. Shaman Fight in Tokyo. I came here to enter, but someone stole my belongings to try to stop me. So, I saw these guys while I was looking for any suspicious characters. And I watched those guys loitering around your house without eating and drinking for several days and eventually..."

"Well, that explains a lot," I muttered to myself.

"I don't know who these guys are, trying to steal my belongings. I can't let my guard down," Horohoro declared energetically.

"Actually, these guys are henchmen of the Tao family who have been after me and (Name) for a while," Yoh explained.

Everyone, including me, nodded our heads in agreement. Horohoro immediately looked at him in confusion and disbelief as he tried to take in what he just said.

"I don't think they have anything to do with you, Horohoro," Manta said.

We silently nodded our heads in agreement once again. The shock of the news seemed to be almost too much. He let go of his snowboard causing it to fall to the ground as he continued to stare at us in shock.

Anna pointed at him and spoke bluntly.

"In other words, you're the one who got involved."

Once again we all nodded our heads in agreement. He fell forward onto the ground in total despair. There were tears at the corner of his eyes as he pushed himself back up onto his hands and knees.

"T-Then what happened to my belongings?!" he shouted.

"Maybe we should report it to the police?" I suggested.

"The police?" he asked in surprise.

"The second you found out that your stuff was stolen you should have reported it. I don't know why I didn't think about it sooner."

"Then it's settled, tomorrow we're going to the police station," Anna said.

We walked back over to Yoh's house and spent the rest of the evening with each other until it was time for me and Manta to go home. Then the next day, I went inside of the police station with Anna and Horohoro while Yoh, Manta, and Ryu waited for us outside.

"What can we help you with?" the woman at the front desk asked us politely.

"We're here to report on some stolen items," I said to her.

Horohoro went into detail as to what was missing but by the time it was over, I was extremely annoyed. Apparently, the idiot placed his stuff in an area that was blocking traffic, and the police confiscated it!

"Police?!" Manta asked in shock once we told them we had found his things.

"They removed his belongings saying that they interfered with the traffic," Anna said.

Horohoro at least had the decency to be embarrassed while he stood there with a blush on his face. Ryu, Manta, and Yoh made sounds of disbelief.

"Well... Um... T-Things happen," he said.

He jumped to the bottom of the stairs and laughed awkwardly as he began to walk away. We watched him as he suddenly stopped walking.

"Yoh, (Name)."

"Huh?" Yoh and I asked.

He turned around and gave us a thumb up before he spoke.

"Let's meet again at the Shaman Fight."

We looked at him in surprise from his words before Yoh smiled and spoke.

"Yeah," he said in agreement.

Horohoro turned his back to us and started to walk away from us now that he finally had all of his belongings back.

I couldn't help but stare at him while lost in thought.

Would I participate in the Shaman Fight in Tokyo? I never really thought about entering it to be honest. I only became a shaman because I wanted to fulfill my promise to Ling and so I could defend myself when someone tried to attack me again...

The sun was setting in the sky when we finally made it back to Yoh's house. My eyes immediately landed on a familiar pair of boots that were on the floor in the entry way as a look of confusion appeared on my face. Everyone else also noticed them as they took their shoes off before we headed towards the living room. The sight that greeted us wasn't something I expected. Horohoro was sitting in the living room at the tea table in a simple bathrobe eating some watermelon. Yoh, Manta, Ryu and I made sounds of confusion as we stared at him.

"What the... What are you doing here?!" I shouted at him in surprise.

"You guys are late," Horohoro said with a smile.

"Late?" I asked with an incredulous look on my face as Yoh, Manta, and Ryu fell onto the floor in disbelief.

"What are you doing here?" Anna asked with obvious annoyance.

"Well, I realized that I had no place to go so I thought I might as well stay here for another two or three days," Horohoro explained.

I didn't really know what to say in response to that.

A look of realization appeared on his face as he continued to speak.

"Oh! The water is nice so you guys should hurry in as well."

That seemed to be the last straw for Anna. She suddenly grabbed the top of my cousin's head before I could stop her.

"Again?" Manta asked in fear.

I could only watch in horror as Anna threw him at Horohoro like a foot ball once again. She was about to do something else as she let her temper take control of her actions but I quickly grabbed her right arm.

"Hey! Anna! Let's go outside!" I shouted as I began to pull her towards the back door.

I knew if she really wanted to, she could have broke free from my grasp but she simply let me pull her outside without a word. It took her a little while to finally calm down enough to go back inside and I let out a sigh of relief.

"Her temper really is something," Ayumi said as she appeared next to me.

"Y-Yeah," I said.

Afterwards, Ayumi decided to have me train while the spirit watched over my progress.

"(Name), dinners ready!" Horohoro called out after a little while.

"Okay!" I said to him with a tired smile.

I broke my Over Soul Merge with Ayumi as he walked back into the house and a tired sigh escaped my lips. The events from yesterday played through my mind as I thought about what Horohoro was capable of.

"Hey, Ayumi?" I asked.

"Yes?" she asked.

"About what happened yesterday... do you think Horohoro can also control the elements?" I asked with curiosity in my voice.

"No," she said as she shook her head.

"No?" I asked her in confusion.

"Horohoro's spirit, Kororo, is a nature spirit who can create ice. You, on the other hand, have the potential to make it on your own and bend the elements to your will without the help of a spirit."

"I can also create ice?" I asked her in surprise.

"Yes. Those who can control the elements can materialize any element if the conditions allow it."

"A-Amazing!" I said with wide eyes.

"Yes... It is amazing," she said with a far away look in her eyes.

Sadness and loneliness were showing in her eyes just like the first day we met.

I knew she was thinking about something that seemed to bring her pain but I didn't ask her what it was. If she wanted me to know, she would tell me.

To be honest, I didn't know much about her past. I knew she was once a Miko who helped save this town and had been a skilled shaman. Her spirit had also been sealed away by one of the most powerful shamans of all time. That was the full extent of my knowledge. It left many questions unanswered inside of my mind. Why was she sealed away? What still connects her to this world? Why did she choose not to pass on? Why do her eyes show such great sadness and loneliness when she thinks no one is watching her?

"Hey! What are you doing?! How long are you going to stand out there?!" Horohoro shouted impatiently as he walked back out onto the back porch.

"Coming!" I shouted as he knocked me out of my thoughts.

I gazed back over at Ayumi and spoke.

"Let's go. The others are waiting."

She nodded her head in agreement then we headed back into the house.

I didn't realize how hungry I really was until we made it into the living room. It was obvious Ryu had made the food considering its presentation and assortment. Anna must have decided she wanted Ryu's food instead of Horohoro's tonight.

"Yo," I said to Ryu's gang with a small smile on my lips.

"Yo!" they shouted with grins on their faces.

"Hello, (Name)-chan," Blue Chateau said happily.

"The food looks good like usual Ryu," I complimented as I walked over to the table to sit down.

"Thanks," Ryu said with a smile.

The addition of Horohoro at the table made things a little louder than usual as he talked animatedly with all of us but I enjoyed it, nonetheless. Eventually the Shaman Fight came up in the conversation and I once again became lost in thought.

Would I enter it? Was there a reason for me to compete? Could I even dare to? Did I even want to?

"What about you (Name)?" Horohoro suddenly asked me.

"What about me?" I asked him with a perplexed expression on my face.

"What is your dream?"

"My dream?" I asked him in surprise.

"Yeah. What do you want to do if you become Shaman King?"

"I... I don't know. I've never actually thought about entering the tournament. The only things that have been on my mind are fulfilling a promise to an old friend and being able to protect myself. I can't think of a reason to enter it," I told him honestly.

Ayumi appeared next to me and spoke with a perplexed expression on her face.

"Why not? You could do anything you wanted with the world if you became Shaman King."

"But I don't know what I would even want to do with the world if I became Shaman King," I told her.

"Don't you have dreams like Yoh, Horohoro, or Ryu?"

"Dreams?" I asked her as my eyes widened in surprise.

"Yes, dreams."

Everyone in the room stared at me with varying degrees of confusion on their faces. I paused for a moment as a frown appeared on my lips.

"...I don't know," I said softly.

"You don't know?" Horohoro asked in confusion.

"I haven't really thought about it. Everything has been decided for me from the time I could walk. Even the person I'm going to marry is going to be chosen for me. I don't have a dream, let alone a dream that's grand enough to enter the tournament for."

"Haven't you ever wanted something more than anything in the world? Don't you have something that you want so badly you're willing to fight for it?" Ayumi asked.

"...I don't know," I whispered as a heavy feeling entered my chest and I turned my head to stare out the window.

I didn't want to look at their confused and concerned faces. I didn't want to talk about it anymore.

An all too familiar sense of loneliness had crept into my heart and I was happy the spirit was here to alleviate it a little. Although, I could tell he was also concerned about me.

There might have been a time where I could wish and dream to my hearts content but it was a long time ago. My path has already been decided for me. I've already pushed my luck just by being friends with Manta and the others and trying to fulfill my promise to Ling. I even became a shaman. It scared me to even think how my parents would react if they ever found out I had stepped out of line. I would only be pushing my luck further if I became so involved in their world that I actually competed in the tournament. It was a line I was afraid to cross. The only thing I'm allowed to do is follow the plans they have laid out for me. I'm not allowed to have my own dreams or wishes. My future was not for me to decide. That was the way of the (Last Name) family...

* * *

 **A/N:**

And there is it! I hope all of you enjoyed it!

Again, thank you so much for reading! Add my story to your favorites or follow it if you like it!


	16. Chapter 16: Engagement

Hello everyone! It's finally out! Sorry for the long wait! I've had an extreme lack of motivation as of late. I hope all of you like it! I also hope that all of you had a good Halloween! Please tell me what you think by commenting or adding this story to your favorites and alerts!

Thank you for following this story of so long!

* * *

 **Chapter 16: Engagement**

A quiet sigh escaped my lips as I looked out the window of Yoh's living room with a blank expression on my face. It was a little too quiet for my liking.

A few days after we helped out Horohoro, Ryu and his gang suddenly disappeared. Anna hasn't been happy with the food ever since. I can't really blame her. Nothing can compare to Ryu's cooking, but we were trying our best to please her. Anna though isn't very understanding sometimes. She's been down right brutal about it. She's become a little too spoiled by Ryu because of how good his food is. I think it's safe to say that it's the same for all of us, though.

"Are you alright?" Ayumi asked in concern as she appeared next to me.

"I'm fine," I said with a weak smile as I looked over at her. "It's just a little too quiet without Ryu and his gang here."

It gave me too much time to think...

The heavy feeling in my heart was still there as summer continued. I tried not to think too much about it, but I couldn't stop myself at times. There was more than one occasion that my mind decided to replay the same thoughts I had the night I spoke with everyone. The situation made me feel frustrated and nervous. I didn't like the fact that everything I had worked so hard to gain during the last year could be taken away from me in an instant. My parents would ensure it.

Despite my worries, summer seemed to fly by fairly quickly. I couldn't help but think though that it was a little too quickly. It was time for me to start my first semester at college within just a few days. Unfortunately, that also meant it was time for my last marriage interview. As a matter of fact, it's tomorrow. I was quickly approaching the moment when I would possibly be forced to choose who I was going to marry.

I was lucky due to the fact my parents hadn't approved of anyone. They seemed to find at least one thing that deemed them all unsuitable. I was hoping that the same thing would happen to the last person I was going to meet. If it did, then maybe they would stop trying to force me into an arranged marriage.

The night went on as usual and luckily Horohoro was there to temporarily distract me from my thoughts. It wasn't until I made it home that I was forced to think about my situation again.

My mother seemed to be waiting for me when I made it home that night.

"Have you read the last file?" she asked.

"No," I said with a neutral expression on my face. "I thought I would read it in the morning."

"Look at it tonight," she ordered. "We want you to be well prepared for tomorrow. He's the most promising candidate out of all of them. Don't screw this up."

I had to fight off a frown.

In other words, they've already chosen him as my future husband.

"...Fine," I said softly.

I wanted to yell at her and my father but I bit back my bitterness as I headed to my room. Nothing I said would prevent this from happening. By the end of tomorrow, I was going to be forced into an arranged marriage with a man I've only known for a couple of hours at most.

The spirit could tell I was in a bad mood and I felt his presence completely engulf me. I knew he was trying to comfort me in the only way he knew how.

"I don't want to do this..." I said softly. "I don't want to be forced into an arranged marriage. They've already decided it's going to be the person I meet tomorrow."

I knew he couldn't talk to me but at least someone was there to listen to me. That's all that mattered...

Instead of doing as my mother asked, I went to sleep without bothering to look at the file. It was difficult to sleep though knowing what tomorrow would bring...

The following day I woke up extremely early. I could only feel uneasiness about what was going to take place. The bad feeling that had been in the pit of my stomach since I first found out about the situation I was in had come back with a vengeance. It definitely wasn't improving my mood.

A frown was on my lips as I sat up from my bed and turned on the lamp to put more light into the room. The sun was just barely showing signs of rising into the sky. I stood up and walked over to my desk where a single manila folder was. I had thrown the others away the moment I came back from my other marriage interviews. There was no point in keeping them on my desk when I knew my parents didn't approve of them.

"...I guess it's time to look at the last file," I said softly with a sigh as I stared at it.

It took me a few moments to actually get enough courage to grab the folder. The spirit came up next to me as I walked over to my bed and sat back down.

"This is it spirit," I said softly as I continued to stare at the folder, "we're finally going to see who it is I'm going to marry."

With a great amount of hesitation, I opened it up to look at the contents inside.

It looked exactly like all the other files I was forced to read during the summer. There was a decent sized photo of a man at the very top. He was fairly attractive, more attractive than most of the candidates, but his smile didn't seem to reach his piercing green eyes. They seemed cold and calculating. In fact, the look in them almost seemed dangerous to me. It made me feel an even greater sense of impending doom. In a way his eyes reminded me of Ren's when I first met him, but at the same time Ren's weren't as cold as his. The man's short brown hair framed around his face, and he had thick bangs going across his forehead.

"My parents expect me to marry a cold guy like this?" I asked with a frown.

I could feel the spirit was just as unhappy about it as I was. In fact, he seemed almost angry.

"It's not what you expected either, I take it?" I asked him softly even though I knew he couldn't answer.

Another sigh escaped my lips, and I moved the photo out of the way so I could read his file.

 _Name: Cheng Zhao_

My eyes widened in surprise from only those three words.

"Zhao?" I whispered in surprise and alarm.

He couldn't be part of the same family that's trying to kill me and capture the spirit, could he?

The air around me shifted. I knew the spirit was wondering the same thing I was as the uneasiness he was feeling flowed through me.

"...Maybe it's nothing. Aren't there plenty of people with that last name?" I asked as I looked over in his direction while trying to calm him and me down.

Deep down though a part of me wasn't really convinced of my words and I could tell the spirit felt the same way.

I looked back down at the file and began to read it again.

 _Name: Cheng Zhao_

 _From: Beijing, China_

 _Birthday: June 14_ _th_ _, 1980_

 _Age: 20_

 _Height: 6 foot 1_

 _Information:_

 _The Zhao family is one of the most prominent and oldest in China. Cheng is the youngest son of Wei Zhao who was a business partner until he passed away 13 years ago. At the age of 7, he — along with his brother who was 10 at the time — took over the company after their fathers passing. This allowed the relationship between our two companies to continue and it has only become stronger through out the years. Cheng is extremely hard working and has become very successful despite his young age. Under his and his brothers' leadership, their fathers company has become successful here in Tokyo and China._

All I could feel was worry the moment I finished reading his file.

I didn't want to believe he was part of the Zhao family, but I couldn't shake off how the situation was making feel. The bad feeling in my gut somehow seemed to be getting worse. What if he really was part of the Zhao family? What would happen? This time my parents are caught up in the situation. I don't want something to happen to them. They aren't involved with what happened six years ago. It's only me. I don't want them involved...

On the other hand, why would he choose to have a marriage interview with me if he was part of the Zhao's? They're out to kill me. Was all of this some kind of trap? Are they planning to kill me after meeting us at the restaurant?

I don't know what to do...

After a little while, I heard a knock on my door and tensed up as I gazed over at it.

"(Name), are you awake?" my mother asked from the other side.

"Yes..." I said while trying to hide the worry and nervousness I felt.

"We want you to be ready by the time we come back at five o'clock so we can meet Cheng for dinner. You've read his file, haven't you?"

"Yes."

"Good," she said in approval. "We expect you to be on your best behavior tonight. We want you to make a good first impression. There will be serious consequences for you if you mess this up," she said with a hint of a threat in her voice.

"Yes, mother," I responded with a frown on my lips.

"Your father and I are going to leave for work now. You can go be with your friends for a little while until it's time for you to get ready for dinner. Make sure to choose something formal to wear that's appropriate for the occasion. We are going to a formal dinner dance. I don't want to force you to change into something else when we get back."

"...Okay."

I heard her footsteps as she walked away from the door and let out a sigh. It wasn't long after that I heard the front door to the house close signaling that both of my parents were gone.

A part of me didn't want to leave. I wanted to simply curl into a ball on the bed. Another part of me though wanted to go to Yoh's house so I could temporarily forget about all of this. Why in the hell did this guy have to have the same last name as the family that was trying to kill me and capture the spirit? Why did he have to have eyes that reminded me of Ren's? Why do I have such a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach?

In the end, I decided to stay home. I knew the bad feeling in my gut wouldn't allow me to forget...

Time seemed to drag on slowly while I dreaded what was to come. When three thirty finally came, I decided it was time to get ready for dinner. I put on an A-line formal mint green dress with open sleeves. It had a square neckline and reached down to the floor. I put my hair up into a fancy up-do and applied just the right amount of makeup to make sure I looked good enough for my mother's standards.

While I was preparing for the night, my parents came home but they didn't bother me until it was time to leave.

"Are you ready?" my mother asked on the other side of the door after knocking on it.

"Yes," I said before I walked over to the door and opened it.

Even she had decided to dress to impress. She was wearing a black lace mermaid dress that reached down to the floor. It was off the shoulders and had long sleeves. Her silky brown hair was up in a fancy low bun, and she had chandelier earrings dangling from her ears.

Her deep green eyes took in the sight of me as she tried to decide if I was acceptable before she nodded her head in satisfaction.

"You will do. It's time to leave. Let's go," she said before she began to head down the hallway.

I stayed where I was for a moment to softly speak to the spirit once I knew she was out of hearing distance.

"Spirit, I want you to hang back during this marriage interview. I don't want him to capture you. I know he'll try if he's part of the Zhao's. Only make your presence known if he tries to do something," I requested.

Instantly, I could feel his nervousness and doubt as I headed towards the hallway.

If it was up to me, I would tell him not to even come for his protection but I knew he wouldn't hear of it.

I made my way to the front door of the house and saw that my father was already standing there in a three piece suit. He looked me over and nodded his head in satisfaction, and I put on a pair of black high heels.

The ride to the restaurant was completely silent. In a way I was grateful for that. I was too nervous to really speak. The feeling in my gut only became worse as we slowly made our way to the restaurant. I was a nervous wreck by the time we arrived. I was able to cover up what I was feeling behind a neutral expression, but I caught myself constantly clenching and unclenching my fists.

It took all of my will power to force myself out of the car as my father handed the parking valet his keys so he could park the car. My mother walked over to my side as if she noticed I wanted to run away and gently escorted me to the door with my father trailing behind us. The doorman greeted us with a warm smile, and I managed to force a weak one on my lips as I nodded to him in acknowledgement. I wanted more than anything to tell my parents that I didn't want to do this but it would only irritate them so I didn't.

There was a man behind a desk near the entrance, and we walked over to him.

"What's the name of your party?" the man asked.

"Zhao."

A look of recognition appeared on his face before he nodded his head.

"Of course, you must be who he is waiting for. Please follow me," he said politely.

As my parents and I were escorted further into the restaurant, the spirit decided to follow through with the request I had given him before we left. I had to fight the urge to ask for him to come back when I felt the distance between us increase. His presence was bringing me much needed comfort and the farther he was the less I felt it. I knew though that he wasn't going to go too far away. I could still feel him, just slightly.

We were escorted towards one of the small four person tables near the dance floor which was in the middle of the large room. I immediately noticed Cheng Zhao was already sitting at our table. Just like my father, he was wearing a crisp three piece suit.

"There he is (Name)," my mother said as she whispered into my ear.

I just nodded my head in response as I stared at him. He was definitely handsome, even more handsome in person, but the same coldness in his eyes was still there. The moment he noticed us and his eyes landed on me something sinister flashed through them before he masked it with a charming smile as he stood up.

I couldn't help but feel even more uneasy as a result. Ren's eyes never had a look like that within them...

"Hello Cheng," my mother said with a smile as she let go of me to walk over to him and kissed his cheek affectionately.

"Hello Mrs. (Last Name)," he said as she pulled away.

"Cheng, you know you don't have to be so formal with me. Just call me by my first name."

"Hello Cheng," my father said confidently.

"Hello," Cheng said with a nod.

Afterwards, Cheng looked back over at me and spoke.

"So is this your daughter?"

"Yes, this is (Name)," my mother said as she motioned towards me.

He took a step forward and grabbed my right hand.

"She's beautiful," he said before he kissed the back of it and gave me a meaningful look.

The bad feeling my gut increased ten-fold and I knew by the dangerous look in his eyes that he knew who I was. It was just as I feared. He was part of the Zhao family, and it scared me beyond belief.

My mother cleared her throat and broke me out of my thoughts.

"T-Thank you," I said nervously.

I knew that if I didn't say something my parents would be annoyed.

Cheng decided to be a gentleman and pulled the chair out for me and I sat down as my father did the same for my mother. The moment my father and Cheng sat down they began to talk about business. I was grateful for that. I didn't know what I would say to him. How could I say anything knowing he wanted to kill me?

"Dear, can we dance?" my mother asked as we finished the appetizer.

I had to stop myself from visibly tensing up as my eyes widened a fraction.

What?! No! There's no way I could be alone with this guy!

"What? But-" my father started to say before she cut him off with a stern look.

"Dear," my mother said as I noticed her, not so subtle, eye gesture towards me.

A look of understanding appeared on his features and he stood up.

"Yes dear," he said as he extended his right hand out towards her.

She took hold of it as she stood up before they both walked away from the table. I watched them as they walked to the middle of the dance floor and my parents immediately peered over at us as they started dancing. The moment my mother noticed I was looking over at her, she gave me a stern expression and jerked her head. It was obvious she expected me to say something to Cheng. In response, I looked down at the table as if it was the most interesting thing in the room. The last thing I wanted to do was talk to him.

"You really have grown since the last time I saw you," Cheng suddenly said causing me to look up at him.

He had a thoughtful expression on his face as he stared at me.

"I'm surprised that you've actually become so pretty. It's really a shame that we're supposed to kill you. You're beautiful enough I wouldn't mind having you by my side when I become Shaman King."

"What?" I asked with a surprised look on my face.

I wasn't sure what I was supposed to be more surprised about the fact he said I was pretty or the fact he wanted to become Shaman King.

"Don't act so surprised," he said with a smirk. "I am a shaman after all. I plan on being the one who becomes Shaman King. You should be honored and grateful for the proposal. If you picked me as your fiancé, I wouldn't have to do something to your precious parents and you wouldn't have to die."

"Why would you even offer me something like that? What's in it for you?" I asked suspiciously while trying to keep a neutral expression on my face.

With my parents watching, I had to make sure to act as if I was at least being pleasant.

"You're someone who was important to Lan. I could use that to my advantage," he said making my blood run cold.

I couldn't even try stopping it as a guarded expression appeared on my face.

"How the hell do you know Ling?"

"I'm sure Lun told you that we've been looking for you for six years. Did you really think that time frame was just a coincidence?"

My eyes widened in shock, and I finally put two and two together.

"W-Were you the ones who...?" I started to say with a hint of pain in my voice before I trailed off.

I couldn't say it... I still couldn't say it. It hurt too much.

"Yes. We're the ones who killed your precious "Ling"," he said with a smile that didn't match the tone of the conversation. "He ended up getting in the way of our goal, so he had to die."

I was rendered incapable of speech as I stared at him in shock.

"I must say though that this really is a small world," he said with a thoughtful expression back on his face. "All this time you were under our noses and we didn't even know it. None of us would have ever thought that you would end up being the daughter of one of my fathers close business partners."

My mind was racing as the new information I was given slowly seeped in. The moment I recovered a glare appeared on my face.

"You're only fooling yourself if you think I'll marry-" I started to say.

He cut me off before I could finish by placing his right hand over my mouth. There was an amused expression on his face.

"Are you sure you want to finish that sentence? I wouldn't want you to make a bad decision."

I wanted to say something but I couldn't. I couldn't speak even after he removed his hand.

The Zhao's were the ones who killed Ling! How could I marry into the same family that killed him?! But if I don't agree to the arrangement, my parents will end up being killed too! What the hell am I supposed to do?!

"In the end the choice is up to you," he said with a smile. He was clearly enjoying himself. "There are only two options. The first one is to decide to marry me. You and your parents will be able to live, and you'll become part of China's most prominent families. The other is to refuse. In which case, you'll end up watching us as we kill your parents before we kill you," he said as if he was talking about the weather. "Choose me or choose death. It's your call."

I instantly felt my heart begin to break into pieces as I looked down at the table. The pain that I was going through was almost unbearable. I was being forced to either betray Ling and the Tao's or to sign my parents' death sentence.

He gazed over to the side to look at the dance floor then looked back at me with a smile still on his lips. I couldn't bear looking at him anymore and gazed down at the table. Afterwards, he grabbed my chin and forced me to look up into his cold green eyes.

"I would cheer up if I were you, my precious Shaman Queen," he whispered. "Your parents keep looking over here with frowns on their faces. They might think something is wrong if you keep looking like that."

My heart completely shattered after he uttered those words. He knew he had won. He knew I had no other option but to accept his proposal...

The song ended, and he let go of my chin to clap along with everyone else in the room. I forced a neutral expression onto my face as my parents walked back over to the table.

"It's been a while since I've had the chance to dance. You both have been getting along I hope?" my mother said before she gave me a pointed glance.

It was obvious she could tell something was wrong with our conversation and of course she was blaming me.

"Of course," Cheng said with a smile still on his lips.

They picked up where they left off with their business conversation and I remained quiet. It was hard to eat once the main course was on the table. I was anything but hungry. All I wanted to do was go home as soon as possible. I wanted to get away from him and everyone else. I wanted to run away.

After the main course, Cheng decided to stand up and walked over to my side and extended his right hand towards me.

"Care to dance?" he asked with a seemingly charming smile on his lips.

When I didn't respond right away, my mother elbowed me.

"...Sure," I said softly.

Even though I didn't want to, I grabbed his hand as I stood up and he led me over to the dance floor. Once we were dancing, I spoke while trying to keep a calm expression on my face.

"Why did you decide to dance? There's no point in pretending to be interested. I'm sure you already know I have no other option but to accept the arrangement with your threat. My parents are practically jumping at the opportunity as well. You've already gained their approval," I said with obvious bitterness in my voice.

An amused expression appeared on his face as he decided to spin me once.

"It would look strange if I didn't act interested. Besides, you and I are going to be married in the future. I might as well make the most of it. You simply need to get used to the idea."

"I'll never be used to the idea," I said unable to stop myself from glaring at him.

"Luckily for me, I'm not trying to win you over," he said as he suddenly pulled me flush against him with a smirk on his lips. "I don't need to."

I didn't bother saying anything in response as the heavy feeling in my heart increased ten-fold.

It seemed like forever until we finally made it back to the table again. My parents and Cheng began talking about business once more before the dessert was brought to the table. Thankfully I was left alone to wallow in my misery. I felt a little bit of relief when it was finally time for us to leave and we headed towards the front of the restaurant together.

"She'll give you her answer in a couple of days," my mother said as we made it over to my father's car.

"I don't think I have to wait that long," Cheng stated with satisfaction as he looked over at me. "While we were dancing, (Name) said all of you had already decided to accept the arrangement."

My mothers eyes widened in surprise along with my fathers as they stared at me. I just wanted to slap him and get it over with but I couldn't with my parents here.

"What? Is this true?" my mother asked me.

I hesitantly nodded my head.

"I see," my mother said with a great amount of satisfaction in her voice.

Cheng decided to grab my right hand and brought the back of it up to his lips with a meaningful expression on his face.

"I look forward to when we meet again," he said with a smile on his lips.

I didn't respond as he let go of my hand and simply watched him as he walked over to his own car. It didn't take him long to climb inside of it and I silently watched him as he drove off. The distance between the spirit and me suddenly decreased and he approached me as quickly as possible. This time though his comforting presence did little to ease the pain I was feeling.

"Let's go home, shall we?" my mother suggested.

We all climbed into the car and I stared out of the window with an extremely heavy feeling in my chest. I could tell the spirit was worried but since I was with my parents I didn't say anything.

"You two appear to have hit it off," my mother commented. "He's seems to be quite interested in you. I admit must that I was worried when we left you two to speak alone at the table."

I simply nodded my head in response since I knew she wanted some sort of reaction.

"You've made a good decision (Name). He's extremely capable," my father said approvingly.

It was the first time in forever that they approved of what I had done but I didn't feel happy about it. I couldn't approve of my actions. I felt hollow and the feeling of loneliness I've had since the conversation with Ayumi and the others was even worse than before.

My parents didn't say anything else on our way to the house. As soon as we made it there, I headed for my room without sparing my parents a single glance. The second I made it inside I closed the door and locked it before I rested my back against it. Tears I had been repressing finally came to the surface and began to fall down my cheeks as I slid down the door until I reached the floor. The spirits worry for me increased ten-fold and he was quick to blanket me with his warm presence.

"He's one of them. Cheng Zhao is part of the Zhao family," I said with pain in my voice.

The spirits alarm flowed through me in response.

My heart and mind were in tatters and there was nothing I could do to fix it. Cheng had won...


	17. Chapter 17: Author Note

Hello everyone,

I've created this author note to tell all of you about what I'm planning to do with this story. It's not entirely good news, but it's not completely bad either.

First the bad news since it leads up into the good news. I am putting this story on Hiatus. I can't tell you when I'll start working on it again. It definitely won't be for a while. My life has become too hectic to deal with three stories all at once. I'm sure you've all noticed that I'm having a difficult time working on more than one story. I've only posted updates for my Draco Malfoy story, Love, Redemption, and Salvation, for the last ten months, and it will be the only one I'll work on until it's completed. Afterwards, I'll consider working on this one again or my Hiei story, The Hidden Child. "ON HIATUS" has been added to the title of the story to warn anyone new about the situation.

Now for the good news. This is not going to be the end of the story. As promised, I will finish it eventually even if it takes years to do it. I have a complete rough draft for it, so even if I take some time off I'll know where the story is headed. I'm also thinking that there is a possibility I'll end up starting it again from the beginning and improving it. My writing style has changed a great deal from the time I began to post my stories on the internet and now. Hopefully I can make it even better than it was before.

I'm very sorry for the bad news. Thank you all for the support you've given me. I'll inform all of you when I've finally began to work on this story again.

Until then,

AppleBee25


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